Episode 9 Curse of the Skywalkers ( a Rewrite rewritten )
by ScruffyStarWarsFan
Summary: The Republic is slowly winning the war against the First Order. Kylo Ren, desperate to turn the tide of war, has set out on a quest to find the forgotten planet of Korriban and to learn the secrets of the Sith and the Dark Side of the Force. A quest that will bring back an old enemy. Meanwhile, our heroes are searching for a traitor; a search that will have them meet an old friend
1. Chapter 1

_I have previously posted my versions of Episode 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8, including Episode 9. Now that 9 is out, I figured I would do some edits to my already posted idea for the plot and story. But first;_

_In my rewwrites of Ep 7 and 8, we learn that Rey is the daughter of Luke and that Kylo Ren saved her when the Knights of Ren attacked Lukes academy. Kylo then hid Rey on Jakku so that Snoke ( in my rewrites named Creel ) wouldnt find her. We learn of Creels backstory; the Knights of Ren was a small Force Order, attacked by Darth Vader and that attack crippled and deformed Creel. Luke fought with Creel in my version of Ep 8 and killed him but was himself mortally wounded; Luke became a Force Ghost and then began training Rey in the ways of the Force. General Hux died in Ep7 and was replaced in Ep8 by Grand Admiral Armitage. Admiral Holdo I made into a senator instead and she did not behave at all like she did in Ep8. Leia died in Ep8 when the bridge of her warship was destroyed; she appeared to Luke as a Force Ghost and convinced him to train Rey. Maz Kanata also had a big part in Ep8 and was not just some random character that showed up in a computer-game hologram video._

_Now, lets get on with it, shall we? My rewrite of my rewrite!_

_An Episode 9 What If Scenario... Rewrite_

**Star Wars Episode 9**

**Curse of the Skywalkers**

_After the death of Supreme Leader Creel, the Republic has pushed back the armies of the First Order. A Republic victory is not far away and hope has returned to the galaxy._

_Kylo Ren, the new leader of the First Order, is desperate to turn the tide of the war. Searching the galaxy for ancient Sith lore that will allow his evil powers to grow even stronger, his search has taken him to the forgotten planet of Korriban._

**Korriban:**  
Stars. Kylo Rens shuttle flies past from below, followed by two troop-transports and an escort of eight TIE Fighters ( in my version of 7 and 8, First Order TIE Fighters look like TIE Phantoms ). We follow them as we pan up and see the reddish orange planet of Korriban.

The group of ships fly across the windy, rocky, mountainous surface. Eventually, the transports and the shuttle lands. Stormtroopers disembark and secure the landing site and then Kylo Ren, followed by four stormtroopers, leaves his own shuttle. He looks up at ancient Sith ruins embedded in the side of a mountain.

"Wait here" Kylo says and walks off alone.

Kylo enters the ruins and walks through them, always wary of his surroundings. He finds a chamber with a pool of lava, statues along the walls. Kylo senses something and activates his lightsaber.

"Tresspasser!" a sinister voice echoes from the shadows.

Kylo spins around, trying to spot whom ever it was that was speaking. But there is nothing there.

"Intruder!" another cruel voice says from the dark.

Kylo looks around, seeing nothing.

"Who is he?" a third voice says, old and menacing.

"The enemy" the first voice says.

Kylo calls out to the shadows. "Show Yourself!"

"Kill him" the third says.

"Make him suffer" the second voice says.

Kylo turns around as he calls out to the shadows. "I have come to seek your wisdom! To learn your secrets! To learn the true nature of the Force! To understand the Dark Side!"

An evil, disturbing laugh erupts from the dark. "He thinks he is ready" the first Sith Ghost says.

"Punish him" the second Sith Ghost says.

"No" the third Sith Ghost cuts in. "Let him speak. Why have you come here, Knight of Ren?"

Kylo looks around him, speaking to the shadows of the room. "I have come to submit to your teachings. To learn what it means to be a Sith. So that my powers will allow me to destroy the Republic and conquer the galaxy!"

"Ambitious" the first voice says .

"He has the hunger" the second voice adds.

"How did you find us?" the third Sith Ghost asks.

"I searched the catacombs of Darth Vaders castle on Mustafar" Kylo explains. "There I found clues to the location of Korriban. The ancient birthplace of the Sith. There my search began. A search that has taken me to a dozen worlds during my quest. And now I am here. I am ready."

"Vader" the second voice says with scorn.

"The betrayer!" the first voice adds with rage.

"The traitor!" the third voice spits harshly from the shadows.

"He is the grandchild of the cursed creature" the first Sith Ghost growls.

"He must be destroyed!" the second Sith Ghost demands.

"He must die" the third voice says cruelly.

"Nonsense" a forth voice says from the shadows, vicious and terrible.

Kylo spins around, lightsaber ready, and finds himself face to face with a creature dressed in torn hood, cloak and rusted armor ( imagine the Nazgul's in Lord of the Rings ).

"He has potential" the mysterious creature before Kylo says. "He finds strength in his anger. His power is fueled by his hatred. His link with the Dark Side is strong, even if he can not control it. He could serve our purpose."

"Who are you?" Kylo asks.

"Do not speak!" the first voice says and another Nazgul appears from the shadows and then vanishes into thin air.

The Forth Sith Ghost slowly moves in a circle around Kylo. "Why have you sought us out, Kylo of the Knights of Ren?"

"To gain power" Kylo replies.

"Good" the Forth Sith Ghost says. "What will you do with this power?"

"Destroy all of my enemies" Kylo says.

An evil cackle echoes through the chamber from unknown origin.

"And with them destroyed? Then what?" the Forth Sith Ghost asks.

Kylo looks at the apparition. "Then I will conquer the galaxy and create a new Sith Empire. And kill anyone who stands in my way."

"He shows promise" the first Sith Ghost says.

"Could he be the one?" the second Ghost says, appearing out of nowhere as it walks past Kylo and then vanishes into the shadows.

"He has the blood of Skywalker" the third Ghost says. "He could be the Promised One. The one who will bring the Veil of the Dark Side."

The Forth Sith Ghost steps up close to Kylo and inspects him from within the pitch dark of the hood. "There is anger, hatred, rage. Untamed power waiting to be unleashed."

"Will he serve us?" the second Sith Ghost wonders.

"I did not come here to serve you!" Kylo calls out to the shadows and then turns to the apparition. "I came here to become a Sith lord."

The Forth Sith Ghost erupts with cruel laughter and then fades into smoke. Kylo turns around as several voices begin to laugh, disturbing laughter echoing through the old ruins. Kylo turns again and finds a throne on the opposite side of the pool. A figure dressed in black hood and cloak sit in it.

"Do you know where you are?" the creature in the throne asks, the voice old and sinister; the voice of Darth Sidious!

"The ancient citadel of Exar Kun" Kylo says.

"There exists no other place in the galaxy where the Dark Side is stronger" the Fifth Sith Ghost, the spirit of Darth Sidious, explains. "Here, there is nothing to shield you from the powers of the Dark Side. Only here can you learn the true nature of the Force. Here, the great mysteries can be learned and understood."

"Teach me" Kylo says, almost demanding it.

"Will you renounce the name Jacen Solo?" Sidious asks.

"I do" Kylo says and behind him, the other Sith Ghosts step out of the darkness.

"Will you renounce the name Kylo Ren?" Sidious asks.

Kylo does not even hesitate. "Yes!"

"Will you serve the Sith and bring order to the galaxy?"

Kylo kneels. "I do, master."

The other Sith Ghosts looks at Kylo and then turn to the Sith Ghost on the throne.

The ghost of Darth Sidious reaches out with his hand and gestures for Kylo to stand. "Then rise, Darth Bane, champion of the Sith, destroyer of worlds and conqueror of the galaxy."

Kylo stands up and Sidious slowly leans forward in the throne.

"Now your first lesson" the apparition in the throne says. "Pain."

Kylo erupts with Force Lightning coursing through him, his skeleton showing through his body and clothing at times. He screams with furious agony, a scream that would freeze blood to ice.

"Pain leads to anger" the first ghost says.

"Anger leads to hate" the second ghost says.

"Hate leads to resolve" the third ghost says.

"Resolve leads to power" the forth ghost says.

The Sith Ghosts all slowly vanish, except for Sidious in the throne, who slowly leans back for a comfortable rest and then a cruel, evil laugh escapes from his dark hood as Kylo, hovering in midair above the pool of lava, is blasted by Force Lightning from within his own body.

**The Hovering City of Geld:**  
Geld is a massive city on a large hovering platform, floating a mile or so above ground. It is a luxurious city, a true marvel of the galaxy. A weird alien bird flies in and sits down close to a landing-pad with a posh shuttle parked on it. Peeking out from the open airlock is Finn, armed with a blaster.

Finn takes a step inside the shuttle. "What's taking so long?"

Rose has opened a panel in the wall and is working her mechanic-magic on the ships systems. "I need to trick the ships computer that the encryption is secure if we are too slice it" she tells Finn. "If we don't manage that, then BB-8 will never find the datafiles."

BB-8 is hooked up to a droid-socket not far from Rose and he beeps and chirps.

"Well, hurry up" Finn says. "Before you know it, someone will come and check on the shuttle and then we're out of time."

Then, Poe is heard over the communicator. "How's it going, guys?"

Finn picks up his communicator. "No luck yet. Whoever owns this ship got tight security on the personal files in the computer."

**High Society Event, Hovering City of Geld:**  
Poe and Rey are attending a high-society event, with music and dancing and everything, and Poe and Rey are dressed for the occasion.

"Well hurry up" Poe says, speaking into a communicator. "There are a thousand dignitaries here, and if we don't find out which one of them is selling out the Republic to the First Order, then a lot of good people will die." He then returns the communicator to his belt. "No luck yet" he tells Rey.

"It could be anyone here" Rey says, looking out across the large, impressive and luxurious establishment. "We must find out who before more Republic secrets ends up with the First Order."

Poe looks at some of the factions represented at the scene. "Hutts, Zygerrians, Trade Federation, Techno-Alliance Criminals, slave-traders and war-profiteers."

They walk past a girl wearing very similar outfit to what Leia wore in Return of the Jedi, which draws Poe's attention. Rey slaps him over the shoulder.

"Focus" Rey tells him.

Poe then spots something. "Look" and points.

Across the room, they see Grand Admiral Armitage talking to a group of dignitaries. Armitage is a falleen wearing a posh admirals outfit with medals and regalia.

"Grand Admiral Armitage" Poe says. "Kylo Rens right-hand man."

"Let's follow him" Rey says and the two moves in closer.

Armitage and the people he's conversing with move on and Rey and Poe try to follow as inconspicuous as possible. They end up on a small yacht that detaches itself from the building where the event is held and leaves the incredible city and flies down towards the surface of the planet. Poe and Rey are sipping drinks as they try to blend in and spy on Armitage and the people he surrounds himself with.

Poe frowns. "Looks like Armitage is making friends with the Trade Federation, the Solkor Guild and the Fonvor-Lex Consortium. A lot of planets ready to build weapons and ships for Kylo Rens war-machine."

"What do they get in return?" Rey wonders.

"First Order troops to oppress the planets they control" Poe says. "Riches from the planets the First Order conquers. So more weapons can be built. And on and on it goes."

The yacht moves in over a pod-racing track, the arena is overcrowded and the racers are standing by. The yacht hovers in place and gives the rich and wealthy a spectacular view of the track and coming race.

**Hovering City of Geld:**  
Finn peeks out of the ship and spots crew-workers stepping out onto the pad to do their thing. He quickly steps back into the ships.

"We need to get out of here, now" Finn tells Rose.

"There! Got it" Rose says as she manages to trick the computer.

BB-8 begins to scan the computer-files.

**Luxury Yacht:**  
Poe and Rey, along with all the dignitaries on the yacht, move up to get a view of the track below. And the pod-race begins and they can follow the race from their vantage-point. Rey glances over at Grand Admiral Armitage and their eyes meet. Rey quickly looks away. Armitage, however, smiles confidently.

_**To be continued...**_

_So that is how my idea for Episode 9 opens. Kylo Ren arrives to Korriban, simply because we have not seen the badguys do that journey; Luke went to Dagobah to train with Yoda, Rey went to Achc-To to train with Luke, so why not have the villain do the same thing? I chose Darth Bane simply because Kylo will become the bane of the Siths enemies, it has nothing to do with any Legends character. Then, the Hovering City of Geld; combining Bespin and Cloud City with the casino at Canto Bight with the Mos Espa pod-race. Our heroes are on a secret mission to discover a spy that is selling classified information to the First Order, betraying the Republic. Could be a fun thing to see in a Star Wars movie, wouldn't it?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Hovering city of Geld:**

The crew-workers at the landing-pad hook up hoses and cables to the luxurious shuttle. Inside, Finn is ready with the blaster while Rose reads the information that BB-8 digs up in the computer.

"Come on, Rose" Finn says over his shoulder.

"I got something. Good work, BB-8" Rose says. "Tons of standard communications and contacts that you can expect from a scoundrel. But, lately, we also have several logged transmissions to Moncala."

"Moncala?" Finn says.

**Luxury Yacht:**

"Moncala?" Poe says, speaking into his communicator. "That means either a moncal or a quarren. Good work, guys. Now get the hell out of there."

**Hovering City of Geld:**

"Copy that" Finn says.

Rose shuts down the computer and BB-8 disconnects. They all move to the exit and are forced to stay onboard and out of sight thanks to the crew-workers doing some exterior repairs to the shuttle.

**Luxury Yacht:**

Rey and Poe moves through the crowd, scanning for a possible quarren or moncal spy.

"There" Rey then says and points.

Leaving the top-deck is a small group of dignitaries, including a quarren and a chevin and four others. The chevin limps and uses a cane.

Rey gets a bit troubled by who she's spotted. "But it can't be him. That's Chancellor Holdo's personal attach . He's here to negotiate a treaty with the Kramalgi Federation."

"It's the only quarren around with ties to the Republic" Poe says. "Come on, before we lose them."

They move through the crowd to follow the quarren and the others. They are stopped, however, by Grand Admiral Armitage. Both Poe and Rey freeze, terrified that they have been recognized!

"Good evening" Armitage says and smiles a predatory smile, displaying his needle-teeth. "Forgive me, but I could not help but take note of the young lady from across the floor. I hope I don't intrude. Please, allow me to introduce myself; I am Armitage Xizahr, prince of House Xizahr and cousin to the heir apparent of Falleen. At your service" he adds and bows like a noble gentleman.

"Actually " Rey says.

But gets cut off by Poe. "Why don't the two of you get more acquainted and I will deal with that thing we really need to sort out."

Poe slaps Rey over the shoulder and hurries after the quarren, leaving Rey on her own with Grand Admiral Armitage.

"Well" Grand Admiral Armitage says. "Might I inquire your name, young lady?"

"Re Remmie" Rey says, almost revealing her real name at first. "Remmie Darkbright."

"Darkbright?" Grand Admiral Armitage says. "What a fascinating name."

"It's corellian" Rey says.

"Corellia? I spent some years there in my youth" Armitage says. "Tell me, where on Corellia are you from?"

Rey doesn't know what to say and just smiles like a buffoon.

Meanwhile, Poe follows the quarren down a flight of stairs and into a bar. The quarren and the chevin and the others moves through the bar and through a backdoor. Poe sneaks out onto a catwalk and finds a good spot to hide and listen in on the conversation taking place in a storage.

"The Republic are planning ahead, for after the war" the quarren says. "Chancellor Holdo believes the war will soon be over."

"The war will go on for many years" the chevin says. "The First Order should not be underestimated."

"Holdo is a fool" the quarren says. "She has convinced the senate that victory is within their grasp."

"So let them believe in that foolish idea" a third, very familiar voice, says. "I know that the First Order has something special planned for the Republic."

Meanwhile, Grand Admiral Armitage and Rey sit down in a booth, drinks on the table, luxury all around.

"So what do you do?" Rey asks. "For a living I mean."

"I am an admiral in the First Order navy" Armitage says. "In command of more than five-hundred warships."

"Really?" Rey feints surprise and excitement. "That sounds really exciting. But you must be hard pressed to win. As I understand it, the Republic is winning the war."

"It may appear that way, my dear" Armitage smiles and sips his drink. "Things will soon turn around, I assure you. But enough of boring military matters. Let's discuss more interesting topics, such as your marital status."

"My mari It's fine. My status is just fine" Rey tries to keep calm. "But the war will turn in the First Orders favor, you say? That sound really interesting to me. I was under the impression that your forces were on the run all across the galaxy."

"Tactical withdrawals, nothing more" Armitage says. "Consolidating our forces, luring the enemy into overconfidence. The Republic will soon be made aware of their error."

"Really? Don't stop, please, tell me more. It's really fascinating."

Armitage leans in closer, disgustingly close. "You know, we could continue this talk of strategy and tactics at a more intimate location."

"What could be more intimate than this?" Rey asks in a futile attempt to get Armitage off track.

Armitage chuckles. "You're a tease, aren't you, Remmie Darkbright from Corellia."

"And you are very handsome" Rey says. "And enthralling."

Armitage smiles confidently. "And you are very, very, beautiful."

In the storage, Poe listens in on the conversation between the chevin and the quarren and the third mysterious person.

The chevin turns to look at the quarren, holding up a data-stick. "Grand Admiral Armitage will be most pleased with the information on this data-stick."

"It was not easy to come by" the quarren says. "If the grand admiral succeeds, he could destroy half the Republic fleet in one move. Just make sure that the grand admiral does not forget who it was that gave him this victory. I expect to be well compensated when the war is over."

"Do not worry" the chevin says. "The admiral will not forget."

"I will make sure of that" the third person says. Poe tries to get a better view of the mysterious person, but can only make out that the man is wearing fancy clothes, a cape and a cane. "Just make sure that the Republic behaves accordingly, and let the First Order continue with their plans the third person says. Do that and we will all be rich in the end." Then a communicator beeps on his belt and he picks it up. Excuse me he tells the chevin and the quarren.

**Hovering City of Geld:**

A small troop of Republic guards walks out onto the platform and talks with the crew-workers.

"I can't believe this" Finn says, holding on to his blaster.

Rose turns to the droid. "BB-8, start up the cockpit. But keep it quiet."

BB-8 rolls off.

"What are you doing?" Finn asks.

"Getting us a way out of here" Rose says. "If I have to chose between getting arrested and flying out of here, I'm flying out of here."

Finn looks at Rose and then nods. "Alright. We're getting out of here."

The guards react to the shuttle's airlock closing and then the shuttle is slowly taking off. The guards pull out their blasters and open fire as the shuttle flies off. As the shuttle flies through the city, it hits a flying commercial-sign. In the cockpit, Finn looks at Rose, clearly not comfortable.

"I'm a mechanic" Rose says. "Not a pilot."

Finn tries to calm down. "Try not to hit anything else, alright?"

**Luxury Yacht:**

Grand Admiral Armitage and Rey are taking a walk along the railing of the yacht, a romantic stroll with an amazing view, had it not been one of Reys greatest enemies.

"So when admiral Ackbar moved his three heavy cruiser to secure his right flank, I knew he was confident of his victory" Armitage says, retelling a battle. "That's when I sprung my trap and moved a Star Destroyer up behind the three heavy cruisers and had it deploy all of its TIE Bombers. The combined firepower of the Star Destroyers turbolasers and the proton-torpedoes of two dozen bombers was enough to cripple all three cruisers. The battle was won and Ackbar retreated."

"Amazing" Rey says, pretending to be amazed.

"Oh, that was nothing" Armitage grins. "Let me tell you of when I arranged a cunning ambush that in the end killed admiral Ackbar, but also the infamous general Organa."

"I've heard much about her" Rey says. "One of the greatest heroes in the Republic."

"A pawn of politicians, nothing more" Armitage says. "She did Chancellor Holdo's dirty work when Holdo sent her to form a resistance against Supreme Leader Creel."

"She was the brother of Luke Skywalker" Rey says. "She was one of the prominent leaders of the rebellion against the Empire."

Armitage looks at Rey with some interest. "She seems to be a hero of yours, lady Darkbright."

"A fascinating woman, no more" Rey is quick to reply.

"On that, my lady, we can agree" Armitage smiles.

Poe rushes in. "I am so sorry, grand admiral, but I really must steal the young lady. We have an urgent matter to discuss."

"Good bye" Rey says as Poe drags her along.

"Good bye, my lady" Armitage says, a bit surprised at the sudden turn of events.

Poe and Rey end up in a somewhat remote part of the yacht.

"Well?" Rey asks.

"The quarren is the spy" Poe says. "He gave a data-stick to a chevin, containing information that will allow the First Order to take out half the Republic fleet."

"We have to get that stick" Rey says.

"We have not much time" Poe says. "Come on."

They climb down a ladder into a dark corridor, deep within the yacht, far away from its luxurious parts. Walking past exposed pipes, cables and machinery, they sneak down the corridor. Rey stops when she is lit up by pale blue light, and turns. Luke Skywalkers Force Ghost is standing in the corridor.

"We have to talk" Luke says.

"Now is not a good time" Rey says.

Poe turns around in the dark corridor. "What?"

"Nothing" Rey says. "Keep going."

Luke follows them. "It concerns the future of the galaxy" he argues.

Rey turns, slightly annoyed. "I'm sort of in the middle of something."

"Who are you talking to?" Poe asks, looking a bit baffled.

"No one" Rey says, annoyed. "Move."

Poe and Rey find a spot where they can peek past some pipes and get a glimpse of a meeting in a docking-bay. The chevin is there and Grand Admiral Armitage walks up to him. Luke appears again next to Rey.

"We must talk" Luke argues.

Rey turns and holds up a finger at Luke. "Not now."

Luke is clearly upset, angry even. "Why do I even bother " and then he fades.

Rey turns back and finds Poe looking at her, somewhat worried. "I'll explain later" she tells him and the two focuses on the chevin and Armitage.

The chevin hands Armitage the data-stick. "All you need" he tells the falleen. "All you requested."

Armitage holds up the stick and studies it. "You have done well, Master Gom."

"Please, call me Artham" the old chevin says, resting against his cane.

"Your contact in the Republic" Armitage then says. "Get rid of him."

This surprises the chevin somewhat. "I have spent a lot of wealth to secure such a high profile contact."

"And now you don't have to spend any more" Armitage counters. "It's either him, or you, Artham Gom."

Armitage turns and leaves. Artham Gom remains for a moment, thinking of his options, and then turns to leave as well.

"Poe! Poe are you there!"

Poe quickly picks up his communicator that could reveal his and Rey's presence. "Not now, Finn."

**Midair, between the Hovering City of Geld and the Luxury Yacht:**

The stolen shuttle moves at full speed. Rose is piloting and Finn is speaking into his communicator.

"Sorry, but we have a situation here!"

The shuttle is chased by two X-83 Twintail fighters firing blasters after the shuttle.

**The Luxury Yacht:**

Rey and Poe exit the interior of the yacht and run up to the railing, spotting the shuttle being chased as it and the two pursuing craft fly past the yacht. On another deck, the quarren spy also spots the chase.

The third person at the secret meeting is also watching the chase, standing next to a railing. He turns over his shoulder at a couple of henchmen.

"Prepare the cruiser. And get me another shuttle down here."

Poe and Rey walks a stairway and reaches the same deck as the quarren and spots him.

"There he is!" Poe says.

"Hang on!" Rey says and then removes the parts of her clothing that are more fit for a social event, but in the way while on an adventure.

**Stolen Shuttle:**

The shuttle moves in a tight turn around the luxury yacht and Finn is holding on for all his worth to not fly out of his seat. BB-8 rolls across the floor of the lounge-area and up against the wall. The two X-83s keep firing, missing most of the time but a few shots hit their mark.

**The Luxury Yacht:**

The chevin, Artham Gom, together with four thugs, is moving across the deck towards the quarren. Moments before they reach him, the thugs have even drawn their blasters, Poe and Rey runs up to the quarren.

"Representative Tentac" Poe says as he grabs the quarren by the arm. "On behalf of the Republic, you are under arrest for high treason."

"What?" the quarren is clearly taken by surprise. "Who are you? Do you know who I am?"

"Yes, we do" Rey says. "You're a spy and a traitor."

Poe pushes the quarren along. "Move it."

They don't get very far before the yachts captain and a group of guards stop them.

"What's the meaning of this?" the captain asks. "That man is the personal attach of the Republics chancellor. Explain yourselves!"

Poe takes a step forward. "Captain, I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but this man is a spy working for the First Order. I was sent by the Republic to arrest him."

Now, Artham Gom's thugs appear and draw their blasters. Rey spots them and drags Representative Tentac with her into cover. The thugs open fire and everyone ducks into cover, apart from a few of the yachts guards he get hit.

Poe is not pleased. "Thanks for the warning!" he growls at Rey.

"I'll try and remember it next time" she snaps back at him. "Hold him" she then says and pushes Tentac into Poe's arms.

Rey then unhooks her lightsaber, gets out of cover and activates the weapon, one blade only. She parries all shots aimed at her, deflecting a few back that kills two of the thugs. Another thug she uses the Force to throw over the railing, the poor man falling towards the ground far below. The last thug drops his weapon and runs.

Rey turns to Poe and their prisoner. "Get him out of here!"

Poe pulls Tentac on his feet. "What about you?" he then asks Rey.

"I'm going after Armitage!" she says and runs off.

**The Shuttle:**

The shuttle takes a couple of hits from the pursuers. Rose takes the shuttle through a hard turn and lines up with the yacht.

Finn braces himself. "I hope you know what you're doing!"

"So do I!" Rose replies.

The shuttle flies on towards the yacht and does a crash-landing on its top deck, dignitaries running to get out of the way. The shuttle coming to a stop as it hits the yachts central structure.

Finn turns to Rose. "You're not a pilot" he says.

She nods. "I'm a mechanic."

"You're a mechanic" Finn repeats.

Poe opens the airlock and drags Tentac with him onboard. "Who the hell is flying this ship?!"

Finn and Rose run to meet up with Poe in the lounge.

"Where's Rey?" Finn asks.

**Luxury Yacht:**

Armitage, followed by six stormtroopers, enters a docking-bay where a First Order shuttle is waiting. As he begins walking up the ramp, Rey runs into the docking-bay. Everyone turns to look at her, and as they do, she ignites both blue blades of her lightsaber.

**The Shuttle:**

Poe jumps into the pilots seat and flips switches and turns dials. Rose ties the quarren to a chair using cords and cables. Finn joins Poe in the cockpit.

"Can you get us out of here in this thing?" Finn wonders.

"Finn" Poe says, "do you even have to ask?"

The shuttle takes off, lifting vertically, and flies away. Within seconds, the X-83s gives chase.

**The Luxury Yacht:**

"Kill her!" Armitage commands and gets onboard his shuttle.

The stormtroopers opens fire while the ramp and airlock closes. Rey relies on spinning her lightsaber to deflect incoming blaster-rounds, deflecting some back and killing half of the stormtroopers this way. Two stormtroopers she kills by throwing the lightsaber and letting it spin in an arch. As she catches the weapon again, she Force Pushes the last stormtrooper out through the open docking-bay doors. Rey then runs, full tilt, and leaps! She manages to grab onto the shuttle and hangs from it as it leaves the luxury yacht behind. She holds on as hard as she can, but in the end, she can no longer hold on and lets go, falling through the clouds towards the ground below.

Out of nowhere, the Falcon appears, moving in under Rey and positions itself there. In the cockpit, Chewie manages the controls. Rey is slowly falling towards the stable and controlled descension of the Falcon, until she actually lands on its dorsal hull and can hold on. She crawls over to the dorsal airlock, pulls a lever next to it and climbs inside as the airlock opens.

**Armitage's Shuttle:**

The First Order shuttle leaves the planet behind and flies through space, leaving orbit. Grand Admiral Armitage is sitting in the passenger-compartment and turns to an officer.

"Get us to hyperspace immediately" Armitage orders. "We need to get back to the fleet as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir" the officer says and turns and leaves.

Armitage studies the data-stick that the chevin gave him and then closes his fist around it.

The shuttle makes the jump to lightspeed.

**The Millennium Falcon:**

The Falcon leaves flies through the atmosphere and leaves the planet. Onboard, Representative Tentac is secured with cuff-binders and tied to a chair by Chewie who gives him a proper growl to keep him in check. All our heroes are now onboard.

Poe looks at their prisoner. "We'll get back to Republic space in a couple of days. They'll love interrogating this guy."

Rey nods. "We'll find out what was on that data-stick, sooner or later."

Finn kneels in front of Tentac. "Do yourself a favor and tell us what was on that stick. You want to go through interrogation? Why not just tell us now?"

Tentac looks at them all, slightly worried how they are crowding him. BB-8 extends his miniature cattle-prod device and lets it flash.

The Falcon rocks suddenly and a red light flashes. Chewie growls and heads for the cockpit.

"Now what?!" Finn wonders.

Rey hurries after Chewie. "We're caught in a tractor beam!"

Rose sighs. "Just great."

Both Finn and Poe pull out their blasters.

_The Falcon_ is pulled into the belly of a slightly larger vessel ( mirroring how the Tantive IV was pulled into the Star Destroyer in Episode 4 ). Our heroes are standing by by the airlock, weapons ready. An astromech droid enters the Falcon and plays a hologram of an alien speaking to them in an alien language.

"Please, surrender. If you chose to fight, we will flood your ship with poisonous gas and then we will jetison your atmosphere into space. The ship will be ours and you will be dead. Or, you lower your weapons, surrender, and live. I trust the choice is an easy one."

The crew of the Falcon lower their weapons and step out of cover. The droid move to the side and the alien in the hologram steps onboard together with a dozen armed mercenaries. The mercenary leader takes a look around and shakes his head.

"So many stories he says. This ship is a legend... Never thought it would be so easy to capture it."

**Mercenary Starship:**

Our heroes, along with the quarren, are escorted through the ship and into a lounge area. Here, the mysterious third person from the surface is sitting by a table overflowing with food and drink. It is Lando Calrissian!

"Chewbacca!" Lando exclaims and gets on his feet. "I knew you would find my old hunk of junk!"

Chewie growls and walks over to Lando and they hug. Chewie is sad when he speaks to Lando.

Lando nods. "Yes, I heard. I heard about Leia too. Im sorry, old buddy."

Chewie turns and speaks to the rest of the gang.

"Come, sit" Lando says and invites them all. "Please, help yourselves."

"Who are you?" Rey asks as she and the others sit down.

"The name is Lando Calrissian. Old friend of Chewbacca and Han. We go way back."

"Dont trust him" Poe says. "I recognise that voice. You were there when Tentac sold out the Republic. You're the middleman."

"I'm a businessman" Lando explains. "I admit that I did indeed set up the meeting between Artham Gom and Representative Tentac." Chewie is not ok with this. "Only business, old friend. I don't pick sides, you know that. A good deal is a good deal, no matter who offers it."

Finn puts his drink down. "So what did the scumbag quarren here sell to the First Order?"

Lando grins. "You'll have to ask him. That is none of my concern."

"What is your concern?" Rey then asks. "Why are we here?"

"You are here" Lando says, "because I needed to know who stole my shuttle and who interfered with my business. You're in luck that Chewbacca here is with you. That's the only reason why Im not selling you to the First Order here and now." Chewie growls to this. "Don't worry, Chewie. That's not gonna happen. In fact, I will help you. I will bring you all safely back to the Republic. The First Order has no reason to attack me, nor does the Republic. And I'll do it through quicker hyperlanes than old Chewbacca here knows about" he adds the last part with a smug grin and a wink.

Then the ship shakes heavily as it takes several hits. The mercenary captain enters the lounge.

"What is going on?!" Lando demands.

"We are being attacked!" the captain says.

"By who?!"

The captain frowns. "Artham Gom."

Another ship flies in and fires at Landos vessel. Three shuttles leaves the second ship and moves in and attaches themselves to Landos ship. The shuttles are boardingcraft and cut their way through the hull and mercenaries/pirates board Landos ship; the leader of the pirates is a Wookie with a cybernetic eye and cybernetic arm and leg. A battle errupts onboard between Landos crew and the boarding party. Lando and our heroes join in on the fighting.

At one point, a large droid that belongs to the boarding party takes aim with a big gun that is replacing its right arm; it launches a web that snakes Represenative Tentac and pulls him in with a tether, the quarren being dragged along the floor towards the boarding party. Finn throws himself ontop of the quarren and is dragged with him; Finn guns down the droid, then shoots the tether and pulls Tentac up over his shoulder, getting ready to run back with him. Thats when the pirate Wookie grabs hold of him and throws both Tentac and Finn back to the pirates. Finn tries to get back on his feet, but the Wookie pirate picks him up and uses him as a shield, holding a blaster against his head.

The wookie pirate growls at our heroes as the pirates withdraw with both Tentac and Finn as their captives. The pirates enter their shuttles and leaves, heading back to their mothership.

Poe runs up to a window and looks at the shuttles and the hostile ship. "We need to go after them! Tentac is the only one who knows what was on that data-stick, and I'll be damned if I abandon Finn."

"Unfortunately" Lando says, "my ship is in no condition to go after them."

"We have a ship" Rey says. "We have The Falcon."

Rose nods and turns to Lando. "Do you have any idea who took them?"

Lando nods in return. "I have a pretty good idea, yeah."

The Millennium Falcon detaches itself from Landos damaged ship and flies away, shooting off into hyperspace.

**_To be continued..._**

_ I tried to create a fun sequence where we get to see some fun aliens at the social event and have our heroes do some fun stuff, stealing a shuttle, chasing a spy and trying to capture Grand Admiral Armitage. There's a big risk this is just as horrible as Canto Bight, but I hope it is a bit more exciting. And of course, then Luke appears and reveals to Rey that something dark is brewing in the Force and it most likely is the return of a Sith lord. In the rewrite we now run into Lando, learning he is up to his old scoundrel tricks. Our heroes are now also on a quest to recover Finn and a spy they need in order to learn what information was sold to the First Order._


	3. Chapter 3

**_The Millennium Falcon_:**

The Falcon flies through hyperspace. Our heroes have gathered in the Falcons loungearea.

Lando informs the others what is going on. "My ship was attacked by thugs working for Artham Gom. A nasty character who specializes in buying and selling information. I was asked to help out with arranging the meeting with Grand Admiral Armitage. The fact that Artham took time to rescue Tentac from my ship tells me that they have other things planned. Big things. Now, attacking my ship, I can not let that slide. So, I will help you get Tentac back, along with your friend. It will help the Republic, but most of all, it will hurt Artham Gom. And after he attacked me and my ship, trust me my friends, I intend to hurt him."

Rose is standing with arms folded. "And you have no idea what Tentac sold to the First Order?"

"Im afraid not" Lando says. "I was merely the middleman, setting up the meeting. I take it you managed to track my ship that smuggled Tentac out of the Republic?"

"Sure did" Poe says. "Wasnt too hard."

Chewie growls and snarls and Lando grins.

Lando then nods, "I see. Not bad. Not bad at all."

Rey is next to speak. "So where is this Artham Gom heading now? Where is he taking Finn?"

Lando sits casually in a chair. "Most likely to a planet called Kijimi. Its the closest safe port for Artham. He has contacts with the spice-smugglers there and often employ bounty-hunters from the system. Trust me. He's heading for Kijimi."

"Alright" Rey nods. "What's the plan when we get there? How do we find them? How do we get Finn back?"

Lando looks confident. "I have my ways."

Rose doesnt look convinced. "I bet you do."

**Kijimi, Arthams Mansion:**

The one-eyed Wookie and Tentac enter a large and luxurious lounge where droids serve drinks and food. Artham Gom is waiting.

"Aaaah! Tentac, my friend" Artham says. "Good to see you again."

"I am grateful for your help, Artham" Tentac says as he recieves a drink from a droid.

"Consider yourself lucky" Artham says. "The First Order wanted you dead. I, however, have further need of you."

"How can I be of assistance to you?" Tentac wonders. "The Republic knows I can no longer be trusted."

"They do" Artham nods. "You have been discovered. But, you also know who within the Republic, in the Senate, that has not been discovered. Who would gladly accept a bribe. Senators who could help us build a profitable enterprise away from the eyes of the law."

Tentac raises his drink in a toast. "My dear friend, I would be more than happy to offer what help I can in this endevour."

Elsewhere in the mansion, Finn is shackled and pushed into a cell. The door is closed behind him by thugs and he sits down, sighs with his head hanging, trapped in an unknown location.

**The Falcon arrives as Kijimi:**

The Falcon flies in towards a large town on the mountainous planet and lands. They all disembark and head into town. They enter a shady establishment and sit down and all order drinks.

"What now?" Poe wonders.

"Now we wait" Lando says, sipping his drink.

"Wait?" Rose wonders. "Wait for what?"

Rey isnt happy either. "We dont have time to wait. Artham and Tentac may already be heading off the planet. Then we'll never get Finn back."

"We'll soon find out" Lando says.

An alien walks up to the table and leans in. "How much for the droid?" he asks, nodding at BB-8.

"He's not for sale" Rey says with a frown.

"I wasnt talking to you" the alien growls.

Rey focuses. "The droid is not for sale."

The alien stands up. "The droid is not for sale" he says and walks away.

Lando picks up on this, obviously. Moments later, a female wearing a helmet walks up to the table and sits down with them all, much to everyones surprise.

Lando smiles. "Hello, Zorii."

"Lando" Zorii says. "Long time no see."

"Too long" Lando replies.

"Why are you back?"

"Artham Gom" Lando says. "I need to find him."

"Rumor has it you two are working together."

"Not anymore."

"I see" Zorii says. "Can I make some money out of it?"

"Maybe" Lando says with a smile and holds up a pair of Sabbacc dice.

Zorii shakes her head with a sigh. "Alright... For old times sake."

Some time later, Lando and our heroes follows Zorii into her lodgins and she closes all windows and then activates a device in the middle of the main room.

"What's that?" Rey wonders.

"A signal-scambler" Rose explains. "It makes listening devices useless."

Zorii then sets up yet another device and activates it as well.

"And that?" a suspicious Poe asks from one end of the room.

Rose looks at Poe from across the room. "What was that?"

They all look at each other suspiciously.

Poe is perhaps the most unsure of the situation. "Whatta hell is going?"

His words a muffled, almost distant, to the others, despite being in the same room. The same goes for Chewie as he growls in response.

"Come closer" Zorii says and waves at Poe and Chewie to do as she says. "The audio-slave kills sounds. You need to be close to it to be heard. The field wont let any sound get through."

"Neat toy" Poe says. "Paranoid much?"

Zorii looks at Poe. "That's the only reason Im still alive. Unfortunately for me, I dont have smooth running tongue like Lando here to rely on."

Lando smiles. "Chewie here has muscles, my old buddy Han was quick on the draw. Me... I talk."

"So lets talk" Rey steps in. "The game of Sabbacc, what did we win?"

Zorii looks at her quests. "Artham Gom has a mansion in the Trandoshan block. He has plenty of thugs for protection, even security-droids. The fact he lives in the Trandoshan block means that outsiders rarely visit, so anyone not Trandoshan stands out in the crowd and is easily spotted. He will know if you're coming for him and he has enough blasters to kill you if you try. Hell, chances are the Trandoshans living there will deal with you before you even reach Arthams mansion."

"What's the layout of the mansion?" Poe wonders.

"Tall walls" Zorii explains. "A courtyard, a smaller landingpad for shuttles, three main buildings. A reinforced gate with a guardtower. Around twenty guards in total."

"So attacking the entrance is out of the question" Poe says. "It's a bottleneck and they'll just gun us all down."

"Any way to sneak in?" Rose wonders.

"There is no time for that" Lando says. "We need to make our move before Artham and Tentac relocate. It is now or never."

"So what do you suggest?" Rey asks. "Sneaking in through the sewers? Climbing the walls? Offer them a deal?"

Poe is next to speak. "We need a proper plan for this. Something well thought out. Going in there, it's gonna get messy."

Lando turns to Chewie. "Chewie, remember when we did that heist on Belarmo? Whatcha think?"

Chewie growls in response.

"What?" Poe asks. "What happened at Belarmo?"

**Arthams Mansion:**

Artham and Tentac step out onto the small landing-platform attached to the mansion and walk towards the shuttle there.

"I forsee great things" Artham says. "Our business-deal will earn us a a substantial profit for many years."

"Looking forward to it" Tentac says. "I will immediately make contact with those within the New Republic that would be interested in supporting our enterprise."

"Good, my friend, good" Artham nods.

Suddenly, the shuttle takes several hits and explodes. The Falcon sweeps in overhead and circles the mansion, its ventral turret firing time and time again. Artham and Tentac flee back into the mansion. Rose is manning the ventral guns and keeps firing, destroying the guardtower and some vehicles parked in the courtyard, while Chewie is in the cockpit and pilots the ship. Arthams guards flee to find cover. The Falcon flies in low over the main building, hovers and opens the airlock, allowing Rey, Poe, Zorii, Lando and BB-8 to disembark. BB-8 opens the closed door and they all get inside Meanwhile, the Falcon continues to circle and Rose fires the guns.

Inside, our heroes engage Arthams guards in a firefight, battling their way through the rooms and hallways. Rey takes point, using her dual lightsaber to block incoming shots, the others following her and firing past her at the enemies up ahead, at times gunning down guards that try to outflank them. BB-8 hooks up to a computer-socket and does his thing; the main gate closes, denying people to escape and Arthams allies to enter. Blastdoors close as does bars on the windows. BB-8 tells them what he has done.

"The mansions is locked down" Rey says. "No-one is getting in or out. BB-8 has located where they are holding Finn and has a good guess where Artham and Tentac are hiding."

"Good" Lando says. "Then lets get going."

Guards in the basement gets gunned down as Poe and Zorii, followed by BB-8, make their way there. They find the cell where Finn is held and BB-8 instantly opens the door via a computer-socket. Poe hugs Finn!

Finn holds up his shackles. "Can we get out of here?"

Zorii fires a shot at the shackles and they fall to the ground. "No need to wait around."

"Let's go" Poe says.

Finn picks up a weapon from a dead guard. But they are quickly forced to duck into hiding as the One-Eyed Wookie appears, firing a large repeating blaster at them. The heroes returns sporadic fire.

Finn ducks as blasterrounds detonate around him. "Whatta hell is that thing?!"

"I dunno!" Poe replies over the firefight. "But this wasnt part of the plan, I can tell you that much!"

"Less talking, more shooting!" Zorii yells at them and they return fire.

Up in the mansion, Artham and Tentac are moving with guards through the building. Outside, the Falcon flies past and fires its guns targets on the courtyard. All of a sudden, they get surprised by Rey and Lando and a fight errupts between our heroes and the bodyguards. Lando guns down some of them while Rey cuts down the rest, deflecting several incoming blaster-bolts; one of these deflected bolts hits Tentac who falls down. The fight is short and ends with Rey aiming a single lightsaber-blade ( the other deactivated ) at Arthams face.

"I surrender!" Artham says desperately.

In the basement, the shootout continues. The Wookie throws a grenade at our heroes who are forced to run out of the way before it explodes. The detonation destroys the floor, walls and ceiling. The ceiling collapses, walls fall down. The Wookie steps over the rubble but sees no trace of our heroes. Poe steps out of hiding and tries to shoot the Wookie at point blank range; the Wookie strikes the blaster to the side and grabs Poe and throws him into the wall. Zorii steps out of cover and aims, but the Wookie fires his blaster at her and forces her back into cover. Finn jumps up on the Wookies back from behind and tries a chokehold. Poe gets back on his feet and bodyslams the Wookie. The Wookie is now wrestling, while still standing up, both Finn and Poe. Zorii aims but cant get a good shot thanks to Poe and Finn trying to subdue the Wookie.

Finn calls out to Zorii in desperation. "Shoot it! Shoot it!"

The Wookie grabs Poe and throws him into the wall, again. Next, Finn is thrown into the wall as well. The Wookie turns around and finds Zorii armed with his own large weapon. The Wookie makes a sad noise and then Zorii unleashes a hail of blaster-bolts at him. Poe and Finn get back on their feet, sore from the fighting.

Zorii steps over the smoking remains of the Wookie. "Come on, boys."

Up in the mansion, Lando has Artham at gunpoint. Rey is kneeling next to Tentac.

"He's dead" Rey says disapointed. She turns to Artham. "What did he sell to the First Order?" She stands up and looks at Artham. "You will tell me what information he sold to them" she says, focused and using the Force.

"Not without assurances" Artham replies.

Lando glances at Rey. "Skywalker said this could happen from time to time. It doesnt work on everyone."

"We need that information" Rey says.

"And you'll get it" Lando assures her and then turns to Artham. "But not from him" he then says and shoots Artham and kills him in cold blood.

Rey activates a single lightsaber and aims it at Lando. "We needed him alive!"

"On the contrary" Lando says calmly. "You need me alive."

They all run out onto the top of the main building, the Falcon moves in with the airlock open, hovers in place and allows for them all to get onboard before the airlock closes and the Falcon flies away at speed, leaving the mansion behind in total ruins.

**_To be continued.._**


	4. Chapter 4

_**The Millennium Falcon:**_

The Falcon leaves Kijimi and jumps to hyperspace. All our heroes gather in the lounge of the ship. Zorii is with them.

Poe is not pleased. "Alright, out with it!"

"Why?" Rose asks. "Why did you kill Artham?!"

Rey is furious. "You said we needed you. I hope for your sake that we do."

Chewie roars at Lando. "Alright, everyone" Lando says. "Calm down. Chewie, trust me. Calm down." Lando sits down and takes a brief pause before explaining. "I know what the First Order was buying from Tentac, and I know why. But Artham attacked me. Interfered in my business. I required your help to sort him out. Now that that's done, I am willing to share with you what I know."

Finn frowns. "Well, that's mighty thoughtful of you."

"Saved your life, didnt it, kid?" Lando replies to Finn.

Chewie growls and slams his fist into the wall right next to Lando and gives Lando a proper scare.

"Chewie's right" Poe says. "What do you know?"

"I know that the quarren provided the First Order with detailed information on your eight largest shipyards. Defenses, patrols, shield-strength, orbital platforms. Everything the First Order needs to attack them in force."

Finn chuckles. "So what? The First Order doesnt have a strong enough fleet to attack us that deep within Republic space. Their ships are needed along the front."

"I agree" Poe says. "They dont have the numbers."

Lando nods. "True. However, I also know that the First Order plan to assault these locations with troops. To be more precise... Clones."

"Clones?" Rose says. "The First Order has created a Clone Army? Impossible, we would have known."

Rey folds her arms. "How do you know all this?"

Lando smiles. "I have many contacts, all over the galaxy. When I engage in a business-deal, I like to find out all I can about it. Helps with the finances. A hard earned leasson."

The last line earns a slight growl from Chewie.

Rose is skeptical. "A clone-trooper requires atleast five years to gestate to reach combat fitness. Add atleast a year to train it to become a soldier. Do you know when the First Order intends to go through with this?"

"Sooner than you think" Lando says. "Much sooner."

Rey looks at the others. "We must inform the Republic. As soon as possible."

Chewie growls and Poe nods in agreement. "We'll reach Pasaana in a day or two. While we refuel and resupply, we'll have time to inform Republic high command."

"Pasaana?" Zorii says, having listened only so far. "What a dump."

**Kylo Rens Flagship:**

Grand Admiral Armitage enters a large room, a court of sorts, and walks across to the far side. Two dozen Sith Troopers stand on guard here and various advisors discuss matters. At the far end, Kylo sits on a throne, flanked by four Sith Troopers.

"My lord" Armitage says as he approaches Kylo Ren. "We are ready to proceed as planned. Everything is ready. All pieces are in place. Except... We do not know if the Republic has received the information."

"They will" Kylo Ren says. "I have forseen it. We go ahead according to plan, grand admiral."

"As you wish, my lord."

"And what of the girl?" Kylo then asks.

"We have a confirmed sighting of the Millennium Falcon in the Kijimi system, sire" Armitage says. "According to our sources, the Falcon left Kijimi along a trajectory that offers six potential destinations. I have decided to focus our efforts on the system they are least likely to visit. I have found that competent advesaries rarely behave as one might expect of them."

"Indeed, grand admiral" Kylo says. "Bring me the girl. Kill the others."

"As you wish, mylord" Armitage says, turns and leaves.

As Armitage leaves the court, Kylo Ren gets out of the throne and leaves aswell through another door. In this room, he walks up to a podium that holds a Sith Holocron that he has brought with him from Korriban. Kylo studies it for a moment, when the ghost of Sidious appears behind him.

"Look deep within" Sidious says. "What is your greatest weakness?"

Kylo gives it a moments thought. "My family" he then says.

"And what must we do with weakness?"

"Destroy it" Kylo answers.

"Yes" Sidious says and then laughs menacingly.

**Pasaana:**

The Falcon exits hyperspace and flies towards the planet with Poe and Chewie in the cockpit, Rose behind them by the engineers console.

"Take us in, Chewie" Poe says and gets out of his seat. "I'll contact high command."

Poe leaves the cockpit, walks through the Falcon, Rey and Finn and BB-8 are in the lounge, Poe walks past them and enters a small room where he activates a communications device.

**Planet of Baramon, Republic Capitol:**

Poe is a hologram in Chancellor Holdo's office. Holdo is joined by Maz Kanata and a couple of high ranking officers.

"Commander" Holdo says, happy to see Poe. "What news do you have for us?"

"We identified the spy, chancellor" Poe says. "It was Representative Tentac. Your attaché and advisor." The news shocks everyone in Holdo's office. "Im afraid the traitor died as we tried to apprehend him and bring him back. However, we managed to secure the information that he sold to the First Order."

Maz is next to speak. "Please, commander. What have you found out?"

"According to our source, the First Order plans to lock our fleet in numerous engagements across the galaxy and then launch surprise attacks against our shipyards, deep within Republic held territory" Poe tells them. "The First Order hopes this will cripple our ability to wage war."

"Impossible" Sky Marshall Yorrick says. "Their fleet is not strong enough."

Poe nods. "True, but according to our source, the First Order has secretly built a clone-army. They will overwhelm our defenses and do as much damage as they possibly can."

Holdo is concerned. "Why would Tentac know such details?"

"The information does not come from Representative Tentac, chancellor" Poe explains. "It comes from the man who set up the meeting between Tentac and the First Order."

Holdo turns to Sky Marshall Yorrick. "If this is true, what are we looking at?"

Yorrick sighs. "If it's true, our fleet will be engaged by the enemy and locked down in battle. Then, our shipyards will be without support as cloned cannon-fodder swarms them and destroys them. If we move our ships back to protect our shipyards, we invite the First Order to invade and destroy what ships we have left at the front."

Maz shakes her head. "No. This is too convenient. Out of nowhere, the First Order has the ships and troops to turn this war around? No, I don't believe in it."

"Ignore this" Yorrick says, "and we risk losing a great portion of our fleet. Ignore this and we might lose the war."

"I'm with Sky Marshall Yorrick" Poe says. "We can't ignore this until we have confirmation this is false information."

Holdo nods. "Good work, commander. Be careful." The transmission with Poe is ended. Holdo turns to the people in the room. "If this is true, Sky Marshall, what do we do to prevent it?"

"A preemptive strike" Yorrick says with a stern face. "We attack the First Order fleet before it is ready to attack us and ruin their plans in the process. And, with a little luck, we will bring our victory that much closer to reality." Yorrick looks almost proud when he says, "An end to the war."

"A dangerous risk" Maz says. "But… perhaps this is an opportunity we can not afford to miss."

Holdo nods and sighs. "Draw up a strategy, Sky Marshall. I give you two days to give me an option to end this threat before it becomes a reality."

"As you wish, chancellor" Yorrick says.

**Pasaana:**

The Falcon flies in over a town and lands at a dockingbay. Upon landing, a young woman watches them, looking like a qualified mechanic; her name is Jannah. Our heroes exit the Falcon and walk up to Jannah who is followed by her droid sidekick, D-0.

"Took you long enough" Jannah says.

"We got a little sidetracked" Poe says in turn. "I trust the deal is still on?"

Jannah nods. "Sure. As long as the Republic pays for my services, you'll get the fuel and supplies you want. You'll be out of here in two hours and I will forget ever seeing you around."

"Appreciate it" Finn says.

"Come on" Poe says. "Let's see what this rock has to offer. We got two hours to kill."

They all move on. Lando and Zorii stay behind for a moment.

"What do you think?" Lando asks.

Zorii looks around. "Its Pasaana" she says. "It's neutral. Anything can happen."

Lando smiles. "Hutts, Trade Federation and the Syndicate have operations here. Pasaana is a shady place."

"Which is why I suspect the Republic spies came here in the first place" Zorii replies. "It's not Tatooine, but it is remote, and few people ask questions."

"Well" Lando says, "if it isnt Tatooine, I suppose we should be safe."

"As safe as one can be in a shady place" Zorii adds.

The gang of heroes walk through a large market and buy food and drink to bring on their journey back to the Republic. They sit down at a place to have a meal.

"This is nice" Rose says. "Makes you forget about the war, doesnt it."

Poe nods. "Yeah... It makes the war feel like a bad dream."

"It reminds me of home" Rey says. "Of Jakku... Tell the truth, I'd rather be back with the fleet."

"What?" Finn says. "You cant mean that. Fresh air, the smell of food cooking, children laughing. You'd trade that for army-rations, stiff officers and recycled air?"

"Come on, Rey" Rose says. "You have to admit, this place is pretty nice."

Rey looks around and spots people being mistreated, clearly servants or slaves. People begging for money, stealing food and making a run for it.

Rey shakes her head. "No... No, I would rather be back in the war. At least the people there are doing what they are doing out of their own free will."

Zorii is next to speak. "You really know how to cheer up a crowd, dont you?"

"What about it?" Rey snaps. "You dont know me, what I've been through. What I've done just to get a cup of water. You don't know anything."

Rey gets up and walks away. Chewie calls out after her.

"Let her go, Chewie" Poe says. "Just leave her alone."

Rey is walking on her own through the market, looking at various things being traded. Finn eventually finds her.

"The ship will be ready in half an hour or so" Finn tells Rey as he joins her. "Time to get back to the dockingbay."

"I'll be right there" Rey says.

"Look" Finn says and catches Reys attention, "I know a thing or two about being stuck in a horrible place, forced to do horrible things just to stay alive. Growing up as a stormtrooper prospect wasnt a walk in the park. And I know that life on Jakku wasnt any easier. We both grew up without our parents, grew up with pain and anger. So much anger... But we walked away from it. You and me, we left all of that behind. Once this war is over, all the death and suffering, I intend to leave that behind aswell and start a new life. How and where, I dont know. But I do know, that I have no intention of letting all the darkness I've seen, that I've done, bring me down. I just wont let it."

Rey sighs. "The only family I've ever known, are you lot. My only friends are in the Republic navy, in the army. The only thing that has brought me freedom, is fighting this war. Everywhere else, I see servitude, I see slavery, I see people struggling to find food for their children. I see children accepting horrible offers, simply to survive. The only place where I dont see that, is in the military. I see people fighting, because they chose to fight. They sacrifice everything, because they want to. Without this war... I wouldnt be free at all."

Finn places a hand on Rey's shoulder. "The war is not what makes you free, Rey. You dont owe this war anything. Please dont feel that way."

"How am I supposed to feel?" Rey asks. "I try to subdue my anger... my hate. But it's so hard. It's so difficult. How can you fight a war and not feel anger? Not feel hatred?"

"I dont know" Finn says. "Im not even sure you're supposed to not have those feeelings. It is ok, Rey. You are allowed to be angry. You are allowed to hate the enemy that kills your friends. That tries to rob you of your freedom. You are allowed to hate them. Being angry is... natural." They smile and hug. "Come on" Finn says. "Let's get back to the ship."

They only walk a few steps when Jannah drives up to them in a speeder. "Get in!" Jannah orders them.

"What's going on?" Finn asks.

"I'll explain on the way!" Jannah tells them.

Rey and Finn hurry onto the speeder and Jannah drives through the town.

Lando is sipping tea in the market, looking at all the dealings going on, all the gambling. He spots Rose, Poe and Chewie across the market. Then he spots something else; a small group of heavily armed mercenaries moving slowy through the market, eyes focused on Landos friends. He watches the mercenaries move closer. He puts the tea down and is about to make a move, when Zorii steps infront of him and blocks his path.

Rose, Poe and Chewie are inspecting some apparatus for sale, when they notice how the crowd is dispersing around them. They turn around and notice the mercenaries lined up behind them.

Poe inspects the mercs. "Let me guess... bountyhunters? Apart from that guy" he says and points. "He's clearly a nerfherder by the looks of it."

The leader of the mercs takes a step forward. "Where's the Jedi?"

"The what-nye?" Poe asks.

"The girl!" the merc leader growls. "Where is she?!"

"You could argue that I'm right here" Rose says.

The mercenaries are getting upset by now, hands resting on their guns.

"Last chance" the merc leader says. "Tell us where she is."

Tension mounts, a shootout is unavoidable. Out of nowhere, Jannah slams into the mercenaries with her speeder and runs them over and skids to a halt.

"Come on!" Rey calls to the others. "Get in!"

They all get in and Jannah drives through the town.

Poe is watching so nobody follows. "Whatta hell is going on?!"

"First Order trackers" Finn explains. "They've somehow found us."

"They are looking for Rey" Rose says. "It's Rey they're after."

Poe shakes his head. "Get us back to the Falcon."

"No can do" Jannah says while driving. "They got people guarding it. I managed to sneak away just before they secured my dockingbay."

Chewie growls and snarls. Poe translates. "Chewie isnt too happy you abandoned his ship. And neither am I."

"Dont worry" Jannah reassures them. "I left it in good hands."

**Outside the Falcon**, mercenaries are guarding it. BB-8 and D-0 peek out of the Falcon at the badguys before they get back into cover.

**Jannah drives** out of the town and into the wilderness.

"Where are we going?" Finn wonders. "Where are you taking us?"

"Im taking you away from the bountyhunters" Jannah replies. "I know of a good spot to lay low for a while."

Chewie growls and Poe nods. "Im with Chewie on this one. We dont have time to hide right now. We have to get back there and find Lando."

"Why?" Rose wonders. "We already know what the First Order intends to do. We dont need Lando to tell that to high command."

"She has a point" Finn says.

Rey is looking back behind them. "That discussion will have to wait... Here they come!"

Behind them, several speeders are chasing them, filled with mercenaries. Within moments, blastershots are exchanged between our heroes and the mercenaries in pursuit.

**At the Falcon**, two of the mercenaries are about to get onboard, walking up the ramp. The two droids speak in binary with each other, nervously. BB-8 hooks up to a droid-socket and with it shuts the airlock... Right ontop of the first badguy! The other badguy falls back down the ramp, horrified at the sight of his friend getting smashed, his legs visiable on the ramp. The two droids look at the body on their end; D-0 turns to BB-8 who slowly rolls away.

**In the wilderness**, the chase continues, as does the gunfight. Poe gets wounded in the arm and falls over. Two of the mercenaries carry jetpacks and shoots off into the air, following and attacking our heroes from above. Rose gets shot in the leg and falls over. Chewie manages to gun down one of the flying enemies. Jannah drives into the middle of a farm/ranch, filled with Space Horses ( the kind they ride at the end of Rise of Skywalker ). Our heroes climb out of the speeder and shoot at the mercenaries while they run for cover. A Zygerrian farmer/rancher exits one of the buildings, armed with a blaster, and joins in on the fighting, shooting at the mercenaries, soon after his Zygerrian wife does the same. Our heroes enters the building together with the Zygerrians; once inside, the farmer pulls a lever and the building is transformed into a fortress as all doors and windows have blastshields that closes and secures the building. The mercenaries shoot at the building for a while, until they realise its no use. The still flying badguy lands next to his comrades.

"Sieze fire!" the mercenary leader calls out. "It's no use! They've got the building locked down. Spread out, surround them. Dont give them any chance to escape."

Inside the building, our heroes are catching their breath and having their wounds tended to by the Zygerrian female.

The Zygerrian male turns to Jannah. "Alright... Explain this to me."

"I'm so sorry, Boolio" Jannah says, catching her breath. "I didnt know where else to go."

Boolio sneers. "How about not here?"

"Boolio!" his wife snaps while helping Rose. "That's enough. Jannah is our friend and she needs our help."

"She might be" Boolio says and looks at the others. "But the rest of them? Who are you? And why are bountyhunters trying to gun you down?"

Finn gets on his feet. "We're Republic soldiers. The people outside are on the payroll of the First Order. We came to Pasaana to resupply our ship when they intercepted us."

Rey is next to speak. "We're so sorry to bring you into the middle of this. But... if there is any way you could help us, we would appreciate it. Im sure the Republic will compensate you for any damages done."

"The Republic" Boolio frowns. "I couldn't care less about the Republic. Under the Empire, Pasaana was a thriving hub for trade and commerce. Now, smugglers and pirates do as they please here. Crimelords are in control now. Say what you will about the Empire, but they maintained law and order."

"Not this again" Boolio's wife, Aalia, says and shakes her head. "Boolio, shut up." She then turns to our heroes. "The past is the past. What we all can agree upon is that none of us are allies of the First Order."

"Is there a way out of here?" Rey wonders.

Aalia walks guides them all down into the basement and there she pushes a button that opens a hatch in the floor. "My husband complains about outlaws, and for good reason. That is why we built our home into a bunker. And why we made sure we had a means of escape."

Poe grins. "Where does it lead?"

"A mile north" Aalia explains. "Into the storm canyons."

Boolio walks past them. "From there its a couple of hours walk back to town" he says and climbs down the hatch. "Come on. What are you waiting for?"

They all climb down the hatch and move through the tunnel, Boolio and Aalia holding a glow-torch each.

**Back at the Falcon**, the mercenaries are gathered around the airlock.

"Come on out!" one of the mercs shout. "We know you're in there!"

Inside, the two droids are nervous and unsure what to do. The mercenaries are getting impantient.

"If you dont come out, we're coming in! And we're coming in with out guns blasting!"

All of a sudden, the mercenaries are all gunned down in a hail of blasterbolts and are killed. Lando and Zorii walk up to the corpses with blasters drawn.

"Any ideas of to get inside?" Zorii asks.

"Please" Lando says. "This old hunk of junk used to be mine."

The airlock opens and the two droids run off to hide. As they peek towards the airlock, Lando and Zorii step inside, clearly stepping over something that disgusts Lando.

Lando turns to the droids. "You two are going to clean that up."

_**To be continued...**_


	5. Chapter 5

**The Farm, Pasaana:**

The mercenaries blow open the front door to the farmhouse and throw in a grenade that detonates before they themselves enter, guns blasting. They begin to search the house and finds nothing.

One of the mercs walks up to the captain. "Sir, its empty. No ones here."

"Search the surrounding area" the captain says. "If they're on foot I want them found. And tear this place apart. Rip all the floors open!"

**The Tunnel, Pasaana:**

A metal door in a cave opens and our heroes step out of the tunnel and head for the entrance of the cave.

"We got a skiff waiting up ahead" Boolio says. "We've kept it around in case we ever had to make a quick escape."

"Good thinking" Poe says. "You seem prepared for anything."

"These days you have to be" Boolio says. "Otherwise you're dead."

Aalia shakes her head. "Boolio, you're always so dramatic."

Suddenly, they are attacked by a giant Sand Snake, a snake that grabs Aalia with its jaws and throws her to the side into the rocky wall. A couple of blaster rounds hits the snake but it swings its body around, knocking over most of our heroes and then proceeds with biting Boolio to death. Chewie shoots it with his bowcaster and wounds it, the snake screams and then wraps its tail around Chewie and constricts him. The snake moves in with its head, jaws open and ready to swallow Chewie whole. But it stops, clearly struggling, being strangled even. It releases Chewie who tries to regain his breath. Meanwhile, Rey is reaching out with her hand, Force Choking the Sand Snake until it dies and falls over dead.

Finn pushes himself off the ground. "Whatta... Whatta hell was that thing?"

Jannah looks at Boolio and Aalia in shock. "What have I done? I didnt... I never..."

Rose comforts Jannah. "It's not your fault. You're not responsible for this. You had nothing to do with this."

"This happened because I brought you here" Jannah says. "How is this not my fault?"

"They had a choice, just as you did" Rose says. "They chose to help us. You are not responsible for their choices. You did not kill them, do you understand? You didn't."

It is with heavy hearts that our heroes continue to the caves entrance. Outside is the Storm Canyons, well named since the strong winds that push through the canyons are incredibly strong and powerful. The skiff is secured to a small dock not far from the cave and they head for it, struggling to walk in the wind, and climb onboard.

Poe looks around. "How the hell does this thing work?"

"It's a wind-skiff" Rey says. "Or close to it atleast. We had similar skiffs back on Jakku for crossing the saltflats. Chewie, help me with this."

Rey and Chewie push a mast into position. As it locks in place, a big square sail unfolds from the mast itself and is instantly filled with the wind; the strong wind pushes the skiff and almost rips it from the dock, throwing everyone off their feet. The wind pulls on the skiff, threatening to damage it as it is secured to the dock and the mountain.

Chewie growls and Poe agrees. "We're getting ripped apart! We need to detach, now!"

Rose gets over to the docking-clamps, removes her cybernetic hand and uses her tools hidden in her wrist to operate on the mechanism. As she succeeds, the skiff flies off into the canyon, the sail and wind propelling it forward. Rey hurries to grab the rudder and manages to avoid a crash, merely scraping the paint off the side of the skiff. But Rey finally gets the skiff under control as she rides the strong winds down the canyons.

Jannah sits on her own up front, lost in her own thoughts, sad over what has taken place. Finn walks up to her and sits down with her and offers her a flask of water. She takes it and drinks, followed by a sigh.

"Thank you" Jannah says.

"You got caught up in a war" Finn says. "I am truly sorry we got you involved in all of this."

"I've been helping the Republic every now and then for a few years now" Jannah says. "Resupplying your ships whenever your spies have needed it. Good money. The Republic pays well. I guess I figured if I helped you out, helped you escape, the pay might have been even better. Turns out it was the cost that increased, not the pay."

"You can come back with us" Finn says. "The Republic always has a need for good people. Come back with us, and maybe, all of this, might have a meaning. Help us bring down the First Order, help us defeat them, and all that has happened today will not have been in vain. It's worth considering."

"Me?" Jannah says with a sceptical smile. "A soldier?"

"Why not?" Finn says. "The wookie is an old smuggler. Rose is a mechanic. Rey was a scavenger on a desert planet. And I used to be a First Order stormtrooper."

"You?" Jannah says in disbelief. "A stormtrooper? I thought you were all clones."

Finn smiles. "No, Im not a clone. Sorry. Just regular people. Kidnapped, lied to, indoctrinated. Our lives destroyed by the First Order so that we can destroy the lives of others. It needs to stop. And we need every help we can get. Be it from a smuggler, a mechanic, a scavenger... Even from maintenance crew working in a dockingbay on a backwater planet like this. Think about it. We could use you."

Finn and Jannah turn to look at the canyon around them and the terrain up ahead as they both contemplate their current situation. The skiff leaves the canyons and travels over open plains, still with the wind in its sail. Everyone seems relaxed. Suddenly blasterrounds detonate around, heavy fire hitting the ground and they are forced to come to halt. With weapons ready, they watch as two mercenary vessels circle them overhead and come in for a landing. The mercenaries disembark and surround our heroes, together with the mercenary captain. With our heroes trapped, a First Order shuttle arrives and lands as well, allowing officers and stormtroopers to set foot on the planet. The First Order officer calls out to our heroes.

"Surrender! You are surrounded! You have no chance of escape! All I want is the girl known as Rey! If she comes with us without any trouble, I promise to let the rest of you go! You will be free to leave, unharmed! But only if Rey surrenders without any stuggle! Refuse this offer, and you will all die and I will still bring the girl back to the First Order!"

Our heroes study their enemies.

Poe sighs. "Well, we are surrounded, outnumbered and outgunned. My bet is we're all gonna die today. What do you think, Finn?"

"I thought you were supposed to be the optimist here" Finn says."

"That is me being optimistic" Poe replies.

Rose gets upset. "Will you two stop with your banter and figure out a way to get us out of this mess!"

Rey unhooks her lightsaber as she studies their enemies. "I got an idea... We'll use the skiff as cover and head for the rightmost mercenary shuttle. Hijack it and get the hell out of here."

Chewie growls in agreement.

Finn nods. "Sounds good enough for me."

Poe studies the scene. "To hell with it. I cant think of a better plan. Let's do it."

Jannah isnt reassured. "That's it? That's how you come up with a plan? Just wing it on the spot and hope you dont get shot?"

Poe shrugs his shoulders. "Pretty much."

"So luck?" Jannah says. "That's it? You rely on luck?"

Finn nods. "Yeah... That's about it. Most of the time."

Rose isnt pleased either. "You get used to it."

Janna shakes her head. "I doubt it."

Rey activates her twin lightsaber. "Alright... Everyone ready? On three. One, two..."

The enemies come under heavy fire, one of the mercenary shuttles gets blasted to pieces. The Falcon circles overhead, firing its ventral guns. The First Order soldiers and officers hurry back to their shuttle and get back onboard. The Falcon guns down mercenaries and the last shuttle, while the First Order shuttle takes off and hurries to get out of trouble. The Falcon follows the First Order for a short while and then breaks off and head back to our heroes, letting the First Order shuttle head for the skies at speed. The Falcon lands not far from our heroes and lowers the ramp. BB-8 and D-0 comes speeding down the ramp and BB-8 rolls up to Poe and D-0 to Jannah. The two droids are greeted with warm hugs and smiles. Lando and Zorii come down the ramp as well.

"We havent much time" Lando says. "The First Order arrived with a cruiser only moments ago. My bet is they already have TIE Fighters on their way down to attack us. We better leave." Everyone hurries onboard. The Falcon takes off and leaves the planet.

**The Falcon** flies through hyperspace. Finn and Poe are playing the hologram-game with BB-8 watching; Finn does a move and BB-8 shakes his head. Rose and Chewie are doing some repairs on the ship. Rey leaves, almost sneaking off and enters a cargo-hold. Stepping inside, she is covered by blue light.

"Master" Rey says.

"Is this a good time?" Luke asks, annoyed. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

"I'm sorry for that."

Luke sneers and shakes his head. "Well, I will not keep you busy for long."

"What's the matter?" Rey asks.

Luke turns serious. "Something has happened. Something is affecting the Force. It's like a shadow that is growing, slowly pulling a veil over the Force."

"How? What has happened?"

"I don't know" Luke says. "All I know is that the last time the Force behaved in this way, the Emperor was alive. I fear that the Sith have returned."

"The Sith?" Rey can hardly believe it, not fully capable to understand how it will affect the Force and the galaxy.

Luke turns to her and looks troubled with the gravity of the situation evident in his eyes. "We have work to do."

**First Order Capitol World:**

An old school Super Star Destroyer exits hyperspace. Three shuttles leaves one of its many hangars and is escorted by a dozen TIE Fighters ( same design as the Sith TIE's from Rise of Skywalker ). The TIE's and shuttles flies down to a planet. In the atmosphere they fly in over a huge city with tall structures, until they reach an impressive palace/fortress. The three shuttles lands on a large platform and their passengers disembark; 48 Stormtroopers ( looking very similar to the Range Troopers/Train Troopers in the Solo movie ) along with three high ranking officers, the officers guarded by eight Dark Troopers ( as seen in Rogue One ). They are received by a large formation of First Order stormtroopers and Grand Admiral Armitage; the visiting officers approach Armitage.

"Grand Moff Kabalek" Armitage says. "Welcome to the heart of the First Order."

"Grand Admiral Armitage" Kabalek replies. "I had hoped to face you in battle one day. It seems my hopes have been in vain."

"I wouldnt rule out anything, as of yet, grand moff" Armitage says. "These are uncertain times, after all."

"Indeed" Kabalek says.

And they all turn to enter the palace together.

Food is being placed on a table, a great feast. The table is long with two First Order officers on one side ( Armitage being one ) and two Imperial officers along the other. Kylo Ren, without his helmet, sits at one end of the table and Kabalek at the opposing end.

Kabalek sips his wine before speaking. "The Core Systems Alliance has been at peace with the New Republic for eight years. Trade is growing each year, security within our borders equally so. Peace with the Republic benefits the Core Alliance at the moment."

"And peace with the First Order doesnt?" Kylo Ren asks.

"The Core Alliance and the First Order are not at war as far as I know" Kabalek says.

"No" Kylo Ren says. "Which is why I find it most troubling that you continue to raid our systems along our border. Forcing me to place troops and ships far away from the battles I fight with the Republic. You can see how this is... irritating."

"And what do you suggest in order to change this situation, Supreme Leader" Kabalek aks.

"Grand Moff Kabalek" Kylo Ren says, "I want you to raid the Republic instead. The tide of war is about to turn and the New Republic will feel my full wrath. The Republic will be open for invasion, weak and disorientated. It is not the First Order you should harrass with your warships, Grand Moff. Strike at the Republic now and you will be able to hold on to what you claim from them without effort."

"And you know this how?"

"Plans are in motion" Kylo Ren reveals. "I will annihilate the Republic fleet, rob them of their ability to continue this war. If you attack, the Republic will have no chance to recover. All that would remain, would be for us to divide the spoils between us."

"And you have assurances?"

"I am strong in the Force" Kylo Ren replies. "As the leader of the last Imperial remnants, I would think you of all people would have a great deal of respect for such powers. And the wisdom that it provides."

Kabalek smiles and places his wine on the table. "The galaxy, as it is, is burning. It has been burning for quite some time. Thanks to Jedi Knights, Sith Lords and the Knights of Ren and your petty squabbles. I have precious little respect for your kind, Supreme Leader."

"Be that as it may" Kylo says, "but you know better than to ignore the wisdom provided by the Force. You are fully aware of the insights it can provide. Your seat of power, Grand Moff, is Coruscant itself. You know of all the secrets within the Jedi Temple. All the secrets hidden by the Emperor in his chambers. You know better than to ignore me."

Grand Moff Kabalek gives it some thought. "Cripple the Republic fleet" he then says, "and I will invade the New Republic with all the might that remains of the old Empire. However, should you fail, and instead provide me with an opportunity to invade the First Order... I will do so. I suggest, Supreme Leader, that you do no fail."

"Grand Moff Kabalek... You need not to worry."

_**To be continued...**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Planet of Tzamura:**

Rey is sitting on a large meadow, beautiful forests surrounding her. She sits in meditation. Luke is standing not far off.

"The Dark Side feeds off emotion" Luke says. "The stronger the emotion, the more power the Dark Side can draw from it."

"Like anger and jealousy?" Rey asks.

Luke nods. "And love" he says, something that makes Rey lose focus and turn to look at him. "It was love that turned my father against the Jedi. The love for my mother."

"But how can you defeat the Dark Side if anger, hate and love makes it stronger?" Rey asks. "Are you saying I should live a life without love?"

Luke sighs. "That was part of the reason why I decided not to train you" he says. "Why I wanted you to grow up like an ordinary girl. I saw what Jacen had to give up, what he had to sacrifice. When your mother died, I… I didn't want you to give up all that. To never truly… feel."

"What was she like?" Rey asks.

Luke sits down next to Rey and lets out a slow sigh. "She was… fiery. Her hair bright red. Her soul wild and untamed. So unlike anyone I had ever met before. It was easy to fall in love with her. It was harder to live with her."

"Tell me how she died" Rey asks, slightly hesitant.

Luke hangs his head as memories cloud his mind with dark thoughts. "A noghri-assassin, sent by Thrawn, tried to kill me. Mara pushed me to the side and took the poison-dart meant for me. The poison worked fast." Luke shakes his head. "You were only three years old. After that, everything changed."

Rey takes it all in, it is difficult to listen to. "Jacen told me how he betrayed you. How he helped the Knights of Ren attack your academy. He took me away. Saved me from being killed."

"Jacen loved you like a sister" Luke says, almost with a smile. "Han and Leia never had any more children. So when you were born, Jacen practically adopted you. Looked after you, protected you. He always defended you." Luke sighs and looks at the sky. "I thought you died with the others, that day the Knights of Ren attacked. It was too much to bare… so I left. I suppose, leaving you on Jakku was his way of still looking after you, even after he had joined the Knights of Ren."

"On Creels ship" Rey says, "he turned on the Knights of Ren. Helped me defeat them. Could he… could he still be protecting me?"

Luke nods. "I think he is. Your bond is strong. You are both Skywalkers. The Force is strong our family. The Emperor could not brake that bond. Creel could not brake it. Deep within, Kylo Ren is still Jacen Solo, your cousin."

"Could I turn him back?" Rey asks. "If he has not forsaken his true self, there must be a chance for me to reach out to him. To reach out to Jacen."

Luke frowns. "He murdered his own father. And he made sure his mother would die. And he almost had me killed when he let the Knights of Ren attack my academy and kill all those boys and girls."

"Yet, he made sure I survived" Rey points out. "He took me to Jakku to hide me from Creel. He fought with me against the Knights of Ren. He wanted me to join him to rule the First Order." Rey pauses and considers what it could mean. "It's like you said, I'm like a sister to him." She turns to Luke. "I can reach him. I can turn him back. I have to try."

Luke nods. "I suppose you do. But be careful. The Dark Side is treacherous and should not be underestimated. Always remember what you stand to lose when given the choice to join him. Never forget what you will lose."

**Planet of Baramon, Republic Capitol:**

A small freighter lands on a platform where Maz Kanata is waiting. Leaving the ship is Lando, Zorii and Jannah.

"Well?" Maz asks. "What news?"

Lando sighs. "I have used all favors I could collect upon. Nothing indicates that a secret army has been smuggled into Republic space."

Jannah shrugs her shoulders. "No one has seen or heard anything about secret cloning facilities within the First Order."

Zorii is next to speak. "The only thing that stands out recently is that Sky Marshal Yorrick intercepted an unidentified vessel in the Karyan system and destroyed it as it tried to jump to hyperspace. If it was a smuggler, pirate or a First Order surveillance vessel we will never know."

"Who knows" Lando says. "With a little luck, Yorrick might have destroyed the ship carrying those clones."

Maz gives it some consideration. "I am not in the habit of providing luck much trust. You have done well. Rest now. I will have need of you soon enough."

**Elsewhere on Baramon**, Holdo is walking down a corridor of a government-building together with Yorrick and Maz.

"I'm sorry, Sky Marshal" Holdo says, "but I will not condone the attack you are suggesting at this time. We have no confirmation that the First Order have the facilities needed, to create a clone-army of the size they need, to launch their attack. Nor that their bases are training the amount of recruits we are talking about."

Yorrick is not pleased. "Chancellor, if I may; the First Order could have hidden such installations in any number of systems that they control. Just because our spies have not found them doesn't mean that they don't exist."

"We are already winning the war, Sky Marshal" Holdo points out. "The First Order are low on resources, manpower and support and simply can not contend with us for much longer. Why then should I order a quarter of the fleet to enter First Order territory to conduct a preemptive strike? Besides, we are about to formally form an alliance with the Holqawa Confederacy. With their armies and fleets on our side in the war against the First Order, the war will be practically over. With the Holqawans as our allies, not even Coruscant and the Imperial Alliance will dare threaten us." Holdo stops by a doorway. "Now, if you excuse me, sky marshal, general, but I have an important meeting to attend."

Holdo steps through the door and it closes behind her.

"You know I'm right" Yorrick says as he turns to Maz. "A quick end to the war will save billions of lives."

"I agree" Maz says. "But not if we act too quickly and surrender the initiative to the First Order and the Supreme Leader. I wonder if you are too eager to launch this attack, sky marshal. You have always argued in favor of a war of attrition and now we are winning. So why all of a sudden this change of heart?"

"All I want is an end to the war, general" Yorrick says with a frown. "And if you do not argue in my favor, billions of lives will be on your head the coming years."

Yorrick leaves with determined strides. Maz sighs.

"I wonder" Maz says to herself. "I wonder."

In her grand office, Holdo sits down behind her desk and activates a transmission-frequency. "Prime Minister Plaquawa" Holdo says. "This is Chancellor Holdo. We are speaking on a secure frequency."

In front of her desk, a humanoid appears in the shape of a hologram. But to Holdos great surprise, and terror, it is a hologram of Kylo Ren! Holdo reaches over to sound the alarm, but Kylo holds out his hand and Holdo gets hoisted into the air while being Force Choked! She struggles to breath while she is dealing with the pain.

"Chancellor Holdo" Kylo Ren says. "Finally we have chance to talk. I have been looking forward to this for quite some time. I only regret it is under such unfortunate circumstances."

Outside, in the corridor, Maz senses something is amiss and turns. She walks up to the door leading to Holdo's office and opens it. As the door slides open, she sees what is going on. Kylo turns to look at Maz and then pushes her away from the door and then the door slides shut. Maz runs up to the door and tries and open it but it doesn't move!

"Help!" Maz then calls out. "Help! The chancellor! The chancellor needs our help!"

In the office, Kylo turns his attention back at Holdo. "Your friends can not save you. I just wanted to have a chance to talk to you before you died. It wouldn't be right if someone else killed you."

Outside the office, guards and others working in the government runs up to try and help Maz in opening the door, but no-one succeeds, despite desperate attempts. A BB-droid even tries to hook up to the door and open it via a droid-socket.

In the office, Kylo looks straight at the struggling Holdo. "I will admit that you have been a great nuisance. You have held the Republic together. My mother would have been proud of you. But it can not last. It will not last. Because I will destroy it all. And it all starts with you... Right now."

Holdo's head snaps once, then twice, and then the body flies into the wall and lands in a heap on the floor. Holdo is dead. And the hologram of Kylo fades. The moment he vanishes, the door opens and Maz and the others run inside and over to the body of Holdo.

Maz places a hand on the body and sighs. "She's dead."

**Holqawa Confederacy Homeworld:**

Kylo Ren is standing in a room filled with dead holqawa officials, killed by him and his lightsaber. He turns and leaves the room and walks out into a great hall filled with stormtroopers and officers, the room showing signs of combat. Other holqawas are scattered on the floor, shot dead. Kylo walks past it all and out onto a platform where his shuttle is waiting. As he walks to the shuttle, we see a great city spreading out around him and three Star Destroyers hovering over the skyscrapers, dozens and dozens of TIE Fighters patrolling the skies.

**Planet of Baramon, Republic Capitol:**

Maz and Yorrick sit in a meeting with high ranking Republic senators and officers.

"It is confirmed" a Gran senator says. "The Holqawa Confederacy has surrendered to the First Order. And the First Order has replaced parliament with the formerly exiled royal family and reinstalled them as the rightful regime."

"A puppet-regime" another senator fills in, "ready to do the First Orders bidding."

"Senators, fellows officers" Yorrick says. "In one bold move, the First Order has increased their territory by a full quarter as they now annex the Holqawa Confederacy. And the resources we had hoped could be used to end the threat of the First Order, is now at the disposal of the Supreme Leader to be used against us instead. We must act decisively to counter this threat."

A Rodian senator turns to Maz, speaking her own language. "General Kanata, do you support the Sky Marshal's assessment of the situation?"

Maz glances at Yorrick and then looks back at the senators. "I don't believe that the holqawan fleet is that much of a threat to us. It is their resources that has the most value to the Supreme Leader. It will be months, maybe years, before those resources will start to have an impact on the war."

Yorrick frowns. "It is not ships and resources that worries me" he growls. "We know that there is a strong possibility that the First Order is planning to attack us. To destroy our shipyards."

"With an army they don't have" a senator points out.

Yorrick looks at them all. "Until now" he tells them. "The First Order now controls the holqawan clone-army. The stage is set. They will attack."

Yorrick and Maz look at each other. The senators and officers look at each other with troubled expressions and whisper and murmur between one another. Then, a human senator turns to Yorrick.

"Sky Marshal Yorrick" the senator says. "In the interest of the Republic, you are granted mandate to launch an assault against the First Order fleet, before they are ready to attack us in full. You may proceed at will, Sky Marshal."

**Elsewhere on Baramon**, Maz hurries through corridors and enters a room with determination, where she finds Lando, Zorii and Jannah.

"My friends, we have work to do."

Lando doesnt seem surprised. "Holqawa'weyu?" he says.

Maz nods. "Holqawa'weyu."

**Planet of Tzamura:**

Rey moves between rocks in a river towards a giant waterfall that crashes down in front of her from above. Luke is watching, standing on the shores of the river together with R2D2. Rey reaches a large rock, finds her footing and then reaches out with a hand and then focuses. It takes time, but slowly, she is creating a rift in the waterfall, splitting the water like it hit a divide on its way down.

"Do you feel the water?" Luke asks. "Do you feel the power of it? The untamed strength of nature?"

Rey nods, eyes closed. "Yes!"

"You can draw strength from it" Luke says. "The Force connects with the waterfall, with the energy within it. That energy you can use. You can connect to it and let it flow through you."

"Like a battery powering up?" Rey asks.

Luke sighs and shakes his head. "Like a luminous being in touch with the cosmos" Luke then says. "Not crude matter, not flesh being drowned, but spirit and energy merging."

_The Falcon_ flies in overhead and circles the location, gaining both Luke and Reys attention. Rey climbs a small hill, closely followed by R2, to reach the_ Falcon _where it has landed and sees Finn stepping outside.

"It's time, Rey" Finn says.

"For what?"

"We're attacking the First Order head on" Finn says. "We're ending the war."

**Republic Flagship, The Raddus:**

_The Millennium Falcon_ flies in towards a huge Republic warship,_ The Raddus_, surrounded by a smaller squadron of cruisers. Finn, Rey, Chewie and R2 leave the hangar on the_ Raddus_ and run into Poe and BB-8 almost immediately.

"Have you guys heard?" Poe asks.

"Is it true?" Finn wonders.

Rey is not up to speed. "What are you on about?"

Poe is excited. "Rumor has it we are attacking the First Order homeworld."

"Not likely" Finn says, not believing it. "The Republic wouldn't dare take the risk."

"Well, they're up to something" Poe says. "And the flagship wouldn't be this close to the front unless they're planning something big. I mean bigger than anything before."

"Calm down" Rey says. "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."

In a hangar-bay, Rose is climbing on Poe's FT-6 Pike fighter, doing some tuning on its systems. She spots six larger transports entering the hangar and settling down. Rose climbs down from the fighter and finds another crewmember.

"Major" she says and gains the mans attention. "What's with the cargo-haulers?"

"Classified, ensign" the man tells her. "That's all I know. The Sky Marshal brought them with him and everyone onboard is under strict orders to leave those ships alone. Rumor has it that they're carrying new weapons that will take the First Order nerf herders by surprise. They wont know what hit 'em."

Rose nods as she listens and wipes her hand with on a rag.

Rey, Finn, Chewie, Poe and the two droids enter a large briefing-room that is already filled with pilots, officers and other crew. Our heroes find a place to sit as Sky Marshal Yorrick and Maz enters the room and walks over to the podium. Everyone turns silent as Yorrick prepares to speak.

"Evening" Yorrick tells the gathered. "I don't see the need to hold back on what we're about to do. We are going to attack the First Order and strike at the heart of its leadership. Reconnaissance to Holqawa'weyu has confirmed that Grand Admiral Armitage is personally overseeing the occupation of the Holqawa Confederacy, commanding the occupation from his personal flagship, _The Xiphos_." A hologram of the Star Destroyer appears in the room. "The flagship is protected by an escort of twenty-five warships, including two more Star Destroyers." These ships also appear as holograms. "Currently deployed in orbit over Holqawa'weyu. But there's more. We have learned that the Supreme Leader himself is overseeing the installment of the royal family to govern the Holqawa Confederacy in the name of the First Order." Twelve more ships appear as holograms, of which four are Star Destroyers. "This fleet, of thirty-seven warships, in orbit over the holqawan homeworld, is our target, ladies and gentlemen. We will go in with a hundred ships and pin them down and destroy them. Our objective is to not let Grand Admiral Armitage, or the Supreme Leader, to escape. The orders from the Senate are clear; kill or capture. Preferably the former. We have a real chance to end the war, my friends. While we attack the Supreme Leader head on, a quarter of the Republic fleet will attack sixteen strategically vital systems along the frontline and deep within First Order held territory. We will not only break their spirit, we will break their backs. The First Order will never expect it. They will be taken by complete surprise. May the Force be with us."

As the briefing ends, people get up and leaves. Maz and Yorrick walk over to our heroes.

"Major Skywalker" Maz says. "May I introduce, Sky Marshal Yorrick. Commanding officer of the Republic navy."

"Sir!" Rey says and stands at attention, as does Finn and Poe.

"Stand down, pilot" Yorrick says and shakes Reys hand. "I just wanted to shake your hand. It's not every day you get a chance to meet a real-life Jedi, and the apprentice of Luke Skywalker no less. I hear you are fast becoming as skilled a pilot as Commander Dameron here."

"I got nothing on her" Poe says. "She's put her fighter through some moves I didn't think were even physically possible."

"Good" Yorrick grins. "That's exactly what we'll need when we reach Holqawa'weyu. Give 'em hell, pilot."

Yorrick walks off, but Maz stays. "Once we get there, be careful my friends" Maz says. "I don't trust the Supreme Leader to simply sit out in the open, waiting for us to attack."

"Who knows" Finn says, "we could be lucky."

"We would be truly lucky, indeed" Maz says.

"You think we're walking into something?" Poe wonders.

Maz sighs. "I don't know. But it feels like Kylo Ren has goaded us to attack him. Killing Holdo, getting his hands on a clone-army. And now we are ready to launch an all-out assault? I don't like it. So please, be careful."

Rey smiles. "We'll try our best."

Later, back down in the hangar. Rey and Poe enter the hangar-bay, both dressed as Republic pilots, followed by BB-8 and R2. The hangar is organized chaos as pilots and crew prepare fighters for the coming battle. Rey takes note that people are looking at her as she walks past.

"What's wrong with people?" Rey says to Poe. "Is there something wrong with the flight-suit?"

"It's just hero-worship" Poe says. "You are Rey, the last living Jedi. You trained with Luke Skywalker, a legend, the man who destroyed the Death Star! You've become the best starpilot in the entire fleet. Well, apart from yours truly of course, but second-best at least." Poe puts his hand on Reys shoulder. "You're a war-hero, Rey, whether you like it or not."

Rey and Poe walk up to their two fighters, their droids being hoisted into position. Crew removing fuel-lines and power-cables from the hull of the fighters. Rose walks up to them.

"You're good to go. Please try and bring them back in one piece this time."

"No promises, Rose" Poe says and climbs the ladder to the cockpit. "There's this small problem with First Order pilots trying to shoot at me."

"And turbo-lasers" Rey adds as she climbs her ladder.

"And missiles" Poe say as he sits down in the cockpit and puts on the helmet.

"Mines" Rey adds, putting on her helmet.

Poe's canopy beings to close. "Torpedoes" he says.

Rey pushes the button that closes her canopy. "Debris from destroyed ships."

"Friendly fire" Poe says just before the canopy seals the cockpit.

Rose shakes her head and walks off.

Elsewhere in the hangar, Finn is carrying a backpack over his shoulder and is heading towards the Millennium Falcon. Chewie and four other aliens are carrying crates onboard. The aliens are a sullustan named Niel Nubub, a drabatan named Poqmoq, a tognath named Lagro and a dark grey-haired gigoran named Froff. They speak their own alien languages between one another. As Finn gets closer, they tell him what needs to be done.

"I don't understand that" Finn tells Niel. "You need to slow down" he tells Poqmoq. "I don't even know if you are using words or just making sounds" he tells Lagro. Then, Froff walks up to him, says nothing and hands him a large bag and points at the ship. "Sure thing, buddy" Finn says and carries the bag, plus his own, onboard.

Over by the fighters, Rose gives Poe and Rey the OK signal to take off. The two fighters lift and flies out of the hangar.

**Republic Fleet:**

Outside_ The Raddus,_ Poe and Rey join formation with dozens and dozens of other fighters, flying through a fleet of a hundred warships. Poe checks his instruments.

"This is Black Leader. Black Squadron, call in."

"Black Two, ready."

"This is Black Three, standing by."

"Black Four, ready."

"Black Five, ready and waiting."

"Black Six" Rey says, "standing by."

A large formation of close to thirty SF-17 bombers joins the fleet.

"This is Gold Leader" a pilot and leader of Gold Squadron says. "Fleet command, Gold Squadron is standing by. Waiting to make the jump to lightspeed."

"Blue Squadron is good to go" another voice is heard over the radio.

"This is Red Leader, Red Squadron is ready and eager to get going."

"Green Squadron is ready, Fleet Command."

Poe checks his instruments. "Fleet Command, this is Black Leader. Black Squadron is ready. Waiting to go to hyperspace."

_The Falcon_ flies through the large fleet and comes out in front of it together with all the fighters. In the cockpit, Chewie is the pilot, Largo is the co-pilot and Niel and Poqmoq are crew behind them. Chewie growls in his head-set. Largo gives the thumbs up. Niel says something and Poqmoq begins to laugh. Froff, the giant gigoran, is jammed into the ventral gun-pit and he too chuckles. Finn, seated in the newly installed dorsal gun-pit, listens in his headset and doesn't get why everyone is laughing.

"What's so funny?" Finn asks. "I didn't get that. What's so funny? Come on guys. Was it something about me? Are you laughing at me? Did you make a joke about me?!" Froff calls up to Finn via the ladder. Finn looks down at Froff. "I can't understand a word coming out of your mouth! Or what ever you call that hole in your face."

In the cockpit, everyone is laughing, except for Chewie who is simply shaking his head.

Rey, sitting in her cockpit, surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of fighters, flies in formation. "R2, please take a look at that stabilizer again. I think it's playing a trick on us." R2 responds and extends his tools to deal with the issue.

Then, Rey hears Luke's voice. "Remember, let go of your conscious self and act on instinct."

Rey nods, closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and lets it out. "Alright… Let's do this."

**The Bridge of The Raddus:**

Maz is looking out the viewports at the large fleet. She is troubled. Sky Marshal Yorrick seems as confident as ever where he stands in the middle of the bridge.

"Alert the fleet" Yorrick says. "All craft… jump to hyperspace. Now."

**The Republic Fleet:**

Within a few short seconds, the fleet of a hundred warships and a thousand fighters, have made the jump to hyperspace.

_**To be continued...**_

_When Luke tells Rey how her mother, Mara, dies, I have been toying with the idea of it being a flashback so we see the noghri assassin, since I think it might be cool to have the assassin carry an Ysalamiri in a cage or in a jar on his back or something to show how an assassin could sneak up on a Jedi, plus it would be a bit of fanservice. I dunno... Just a thought._


	7. Chapter 7

****The Star Destroyer ****_**_**Xiphos**_**_****:****

Grand Admiral Armitage and a few other officers are studying a hologram. We see a planet with three moons ( Holqawa'weyu ), a group of green dots closely together in orbit with another group, three times as many, of yellow dots arranged a bit away from the planet. As they study the hologram, more groups of green dots appear around the yellow ones, soon surrounding the yellow altogether. Kylo Ren enters the room and Armitage and the officers look up from the hologram.

"Supreme Leader" Armitage says. "Everything is ready. All we can do now is wait."

"Good work, grand admiral" Kylo says as he joins the others by the hologram. "The holqawan monarch has assured me that they will be building ships for our fleet by the end of the month. And rebellious officers in their army are being executed and replaced. Their clone-army will be available in a couple of days."

"Very good, sir" Armitage says. "As soon as we are done here, we will bring the war to the heart of the Republic."

"Just remember, grand admiral" Kylo says. "The girl is mine. You will not touch her. As soon as she is located, your forces will not go after her."

"Understood, my lord" Armitage says and bows, a show of false respect.

Kylo turns and leaves the room. When they are alone, a First Order admiral, Harloff, walks up to Armitage.

"Sir, it could be done today" the admiral says. "The Supreme Leader is known to become, eager shall we say, in combat. He could easily end up on his own on the field of battle."

"The thought has occurred to me, Admiral Harloff" Armitage says. "We will have to wait and see if the opportunity presents itself. If it does" Armitage turns to Harloff, "we will make sure that the Supreme Leader, and the girl, dies."

Harloff smiles and nods. "All hail the Supreme Leader."

_**_**The Raddus**_**_****:****

Maz walks across the hangar towards the six large transports. The transports are guarded by Republic troops. A colonel steps up to Maz as she comes closer.

"I am sorry, general" the colonel says. "These vessels are off limits, by order of Sky Marshal Yorrick."

"So I'm told, colonel" Maz says. "But we are going into battle, and I don't like secrets on the ship I rely upon to keep me alive."

"I'm sorry, general. But you will have to ask the sky marshal."

"What do you think is on them?" Maz asks.

The colonel chuckles. "I have no idea, ma'am. The boys are guessing that they're transporting a new bomb of some kind. A cloaking device perhaps? All I know is that I'm not allowed to let anyone tamper with these transports."

Maz nods. "Keep up the good work, colonel."

Maz turns and walks away and finds Rose waiting. Joining Rose, they both take a look at the transports and the guards.

"I don't like surprises" Rose says.

"Me neither" Maz says. "I have a bad feeling about all of this."

**Holqawa'weyu:**

A First Order shuttle leaves the planet and heads for the small fleet in orbit. The shuttle flies towards a Shield-Ship, similar to the one that protected the Starkiller in Episode 7. As the shuttle approaches to dock, the airlock opens and Zorii exits, wearing a spacesuit; using thrusters she flies along the hull of the ship. The shuttle enters the Shield-Ship and lands; leaving it are Lando and Jannah, disguised as First Order officers/pilots, together with D-0. Lando, Jannah and D-0 find an out of the way area where they help hook up D-0 to the ships systems. Jannah helps the droid while Lando keeps watch.

"There" Jannah says. "We're hooked into their communication-systems. Once the shooting starts, we should be able to pick up every order and command given and relay it to the Republic fleet."

"Nicely done" Lando says with a smile.

Outside the ship, Zorii makes her way to the main big shield-dish and places several explosives on it at various places.

****Republic Fleet, Holqawa'weyu:****

The Republic fleet exits hyperspace en-masse. On the bridge, Sky Marshal Yorrick looks out the viewport at the planet and its three moons.

"Alert all craft" Yorrick says. "Engage the enemy."

The fleet moves to attack and all fighters speed up and take point.

Poe addresses his squadron from his cockpit. "Alright guys. Stay alert, watch out for cross-fire and pick up your visual scanning. Stay in our designated attack-zone and stay in formation. There's gonna be thousands of fighters once the shooting starts. But don't worry, we can pull this off. No biggie at all."

Rey shakes her head. "Great speech, Black Leader. Really inspiring."

"Cut the chatter, Black Six" Poe replies over the radio.

The Republic fleet closes in on the planet at speed.

****The Star Destroyer ****_**_**Xiphos**_**_****:****

On the bridge, Admiral Harloff walks up to Grand Admiral Armitage who is sitting in his command-chair.

"Sir" Harloff says, "the enemy armada has left hyperspace and is closing in on our position."

Armitage slowly gets out of his chair, walks up to the viewports and studies the stars as if he can see the incoming fleet. "Prepare the fleet for battle" he says calmly. "Launch all fighters."

"Yes, sir."

_**_**The Raddus**_**_****:****

The captain of the flagship looks at a screen and then turns to Yorrick. "Sky Marshal, sir. The enemy fleet is re-arranging into battle-formation."

Maz, who is on the bridge, turns and listens. Yorrick doesn't seem impressed.

"They are hopelessly outnumbered" Yorrick says. "We continue as planned."

"Sir" the captain says, not assured at all. "Grand Admiral Armitage knows he can't win this. There's no reason for him to fight us. Unless he thinks he can win."

Yorrick frowns at the captain. "I will not be deterred by that mans hubris, captain. Attack!"

Maz turns from the conversation and looks at the fleet spreading out before them.

****Battle of Holqawa'weyu:****

The two fleets engage, fighters clashing and warships firing turbo-lasers at each other. Poe and Rey are fighter-aces and it shows. The Falcon does what it does best and Finn fires his turret. We all know what we like; the best sequences of the Battle at Scarif and Battle for Endor!

****Kylo Rens Star Destroyer:****

At the rear of the First Order fleet, Kylo Rens Star Destroyer is safe, the battle taking place at the other end of the formation. An officer walks up to Kylo.

"Your highness. Your fighter is fueled and ready. You may launch at your pleasure, my lord."

"Not this time, captain" Kylo says. "Should I join this battle, Grand Admiral Armitage will conspire to see me killed."

"Sir?"

"I have foreseen it" Kylo says. "As bright as day. We will deal with him at a later time."

"Yes, sir" the captain says and leaves.

A black-plated protocol-droid, C-3H8, walks up to Kylo. "Master, I believe I have found the pilot you are looking for. I have studied the flight-patterns of the Republic fighters and one stands out from the rest. The pilot follows few standard maneuvers, barely stays in formation and has so far during this engagement an impressive number of killed enemies."

Kylo turns to the droid. "Show me."

**The Shield-Ship:**

Jannah listens to the enemy communications and becomes terrified as she turns to Lando. "The Republic fleet! Its about to get surrounded!"

"What?!" Lando growls.

_**_**The Xiphos**_**_****:****

Grand Admiral Armitage watches the battle unfold through the viewports when Admiral Harloff walks up to him.

"Sir, our reinforcements have arrived."

Armitage smiles. "Excellent."

_**_**The Raddus**_**_****:****

The captain of the ship turns to Yorrick. "Sir! Enemy ships have exited hyperspace at mark nine, ten, six!"

Yorrick and Maz walks over to a hologram depicting the battle, Republic ships are blue dots and First Order are red. They see the newly arrived group of ships outflanking the Republic fleet.

A Republic officer turns in his chair to his superiors. "More contacts leaving hyperspace!"

Yorrick and Maz watches the hologram as more and more red dots appear, soon having surrounded the Republic fleet!

The captain studies his readings. "Sir, over two hundred enemy ships have entered the system! Including four dreadnoughts!"

Another officer conveys the data from his station. "The enemy has established a gravity-well around the battle!"

The captain turns pale as he looks at his screen. "They have two interdictors! We're trapped!"

Maz turns to Yorrick. "An ambush. They knew we were coming. We've been betrayed."

Yorrick turns to his captain. "Call back all fighters! Protect the fleet!"

****Battle of Holqawa'weyu:****

The Republic fleet is totally surrounded, taking fire from every angle. Enemy fighters are swarming the Republic ships. One by one, the Republic warships are destroyed. In the middle of this, Poe and Rey have to rely on their superior flying-skills to stay alive. The Falcon struggles to avoid incoming fire, its guns firing, Finn sitting in a turret and trying to fight off incoming TIE Fighters.

**The Shield-Ship:**

Lando and Jannah, with D-0, hurry back to their shuttle.

Lando picks up a communicator. "Zorii, get ready to get picked up. We're getting out of here. The fleet has walked into a god damn ambush."

Zorii flies along the hull of thee ship. "So what's the plan?"

"Get down to the surface, find a ship that can shoot and get into the fight" Lando explains.

"Brilliant plan, Lando" Zorii says with sarcasm. "What could possibly go wrong."

Lando, Jannah and D-0 enter their shuttle and shortly after leaves the Shield-Ship, stopping shortly outside to allow Zorii to climb onboard via the airlock. Once she is inside and free from the spacesuit, she picks up a detonator and hits it; blowing up the main dish on the Shield-Ship.

_**The Xiphos**_**:**

Admiral Harloff turns to Armitage, "Sir! The shield-ship just took a direct hit to its main array. We now have to rely on our own shields for protection."

_**_**The Raddus**_**_****:****

In the hangar-bay, damaged fighters come in for a landing. Crew rush up to help the pilots and to repair the fighters. Rose is one of them and she hurries over to a fighter and join other crew that help pull out the wounded pilot from the cockpit.

****Kylo & Rey:****

Kylo Ren watches the battle from the bridge of his personal Star Destroyer.

"Leanna" he says.

Rey reacts to the voice, ignores it and returns her focus to the battle, gunning down two more TIE Fighters.

"I know you can hear me" Kylo says.

"Get out of my head!" Rey growls and then guns down another TIE Fighter.

"You can't ignore me. Come to me. Please, Leanna. There's no escape."

"Sorry, but not interested!"

_**_**The Raddus**_**_****:****

Rose helps the wounded pilot up on a stretcher and medical personnel then rush off with him. Rose turns as more damaged fighters comes in for a landing. She sighs, horrified at the sight of the chaos. Then, something draws her attention. The mysterious transports open and lower their boarding-ramps. The guards protecting the transports turn around, unsure what is going on. Then the guards get killed by blaster-fire! Hundreds and hundreds of Stormtroopers charge out of the transports, shooting at everyone in the hangar. Rose runs for cover while everyone around her get gunned down. First Order Battle-droids leave the transports as well, joining in on the fighting, walking on four legs and armed with two twin-blasters mounted on an arm each. Rose dares to take a peek from her hiding-spot, and as she does, she sees who steps out of one of the transports. It is Captain Phasma! But instead of a helmet, she now has a facemask ( __just like Darth Malgus__ ) and her head has no hair and her skin is covered with horrific burns and scars. Phasma is followed by four Stormtroopers in red armor as a personal escort.

( __I actually had no plans to include Phasma in Ep9, letting her be dead. But then I toyed with this idea of the stormtroopers infiltrating the Republic flagship, and I just couldn't help but liking the idea that Phasma should make a return at this point__ )

****Battle of Holqawa'weyu:****

The Republic fleet keeps getting pounded by the First Order, one ship after the other being shot to pieces. The Falcon chases a squadron of TIE Fighters, both turrets gunning down four to six TIE's each and the main blasters gunning down another three. Rey and Poe do some fancy flying, killing another six TIE Fighters. Republic fighters gets shot down one after the other, pilots call out targets, scream as they crash to their deaths, try to coordinate attacks. It is chaos, death and destruction everywhere!

_**_**The Xiphos**_**_****:****

Admiral Harloff walks up to Grand Admiral Armitage who is drinking tea in his command-chair; Armitage doesn't appear the slightest worried about the ongoing battle.

"Sir, we have reports from the other sixteen systems the Republic have attacked. Our forces are in control in fourteen of the systems. Reinforcements have been redirected to help in the two systems where the Republic is having the upper-hand."

"Which two?" Armitage asks.

"Giankara and Farbelluch" Harloff says. "Farbelluch is the major hyperspace-junction in the Dash sector. Giankara has three extremely mineral-rich planets that are important for our shield-generator production."

"Focus our reinforcements at Farbelluch" Armitage says. "We can afford to lose one of these engagements. If we lose Farbelluch, it will slow down our troop-movements. Giankara we can reclaim whenever we have the ships to do so."

"As you wish, sir."

_**_**The Raddus**_**_****:****

Rose and several other crewmembers run down a corridor, chased by stormtroopers shooting at them, fleeing for their lives!

In the hangar, four First Order BB-droids hook up to droid-sockets. A lieutenant turns to Captain Phasma.

"Captain, we have sliced their systems and network. We are in control."

"Good work, lieutenant" Phasma says and walks away, followed by her escort and a dozen stormtroopers.

Elsewhere, Rose ducks into cover as the last crewmembers around her get shot down. She crawls up into a ball with blaster-rounds detonating around her. Suddenly, the blaster-fire intensifies and as suddenly dies out. Rose crawls out of cover and finds Maz and two dozen Republic troops running up to her.

"Rose!" Maz says.

"Maz!" Rose replies and they hug. "Maz, the transports. The Sky Marshalls transports. That's how they got onboard."

"That snake" Maz hiss with contempt.

A Republic soldiers walks up to Maz. "General, the Sky Marshall has ordered the bridge to be sealed off from the ship. All shields and blast-doors have been activated to protect the bridge."

Rose realize what that means. "Nothing will get in" she says. "Yorrick has sealed himself off from the rest of the ship. There is no way we can get to him."

Maz frowns. "Our only chance to stop him is to throw the boarding-party into space." She cocks her blaster. "Come on."

They all run down the corridor.

****Battle of Holqawa'weyu:****

Rey guns down two enemy fighters. "This is insane! Chewie, do you read me? Rogue Leader, please respond!"

The Falcon guns down a heavy bomber. In the cockpit, Chewie growls a reply to Rey.

"I need you to cover me" Rey says. "I'm going after one of the cruisers and need someone to keep the fighters off my back."

Chewie growls in agreement. The Falcon does a sharp turn and soon finds itself trailing Black Six. Together, they blast their way through the TIE Fighters. Another Pike fighter shows up and helps the Falcon gunning down some TIE's in pursuit.

"Where the hell are you going?!" Poe asks, coming up next to the Falcon and Rey.

Rey looks out from her cockpit at Black Leader. "We're getting shot to pieces out here. If we keep protecting our ships, we wont achieve anything. We have to fight back."

"I like the way your think" Poe says. "So what's the plan?"

"There is no plan" Rey admits. "But right now, that carrier looks like a good target."

Poe looks ahead and spots a First Order carrier very similar to the old imperial Impellor-class Fleet Carriers.

"Sure, why not" Poe says.

Chewie growls and Rey adjusts her fighters systems. "Don't worry, Chewie. You just follow us in and deal with the fighters. I'll worry about the carrier."

Finn swings his turret around and looks at Black Six. "Rey, you be careful. May the Force be with you."

"I'll see you when all of this is over, Finn" Rey replies.

"Alright" Poe cuts in. "Enough small talk. Let's give 'em hell."

Black Leader and Black Six throttle up and the Falcon follows. Their guns paving a path through the swarms of TIE Fighters. The two Pike fighters line up and Poe follows Rey towards the carrier, with the Falcon behind. Finn and Froff swinging their turrets back and forth, firing at TIE Fighters getting too close.

_**_**The Raddus**_**_****:****

Republic troops are holding a junction, stormtroopers pressing the assault. Maz is in the middle of it, firing at the stormtroopers. People are dying on both sides. Rose opens a panel in the wall and starts doing her magic; a blast-door closes between the Republic soldiers and the stormtroopers.

Maz turns around and spots Rose. "Rose?! What are you doing? If we allow them to fortify that hallway, we will never retake the hangar!"

On the other side of the blast-doors, stormtroopers are moving up, weapons ready. Captain Phasma is with them, watching as her troops close in on the closed blast-doors.

Rose offers Maz a glance. "They wont be fortifying anything, general." And she rips out a computer-card.

An airlock opens and sucks out dozens and dozens of stormtroopers! Phasma grabs hold of some pipes and holds on for all her worth. A black BB-unit hooks up to a droid-socket and manages to close the airlock. The decompression ends. And the blast-doors open; the Republic soldiers charge, guns blazing! Phasma and her troops are forced to conduct a fighting retreat.

Maz turns to Rose. "Not bad for a mechanic."

****Battle of Holqawa'weyu:****

"Ready, Poe?" Rey asks.

"I'm ready" Poe says. "Not sure for what, but I'm ready."

"Follow the damaged fighters" Rey says. "Their shields will lower to allow them to dock."

Poe is suddenly not as eager to follow the plan. "If you're thinking on doing what I think you're thinking…"

"Feel free to bail on us, Poe. That is if you consider yourself a lesser pilot than I" Rey says.

Poe frowns. "I'll show you who's the lesser pilot."

They fly towards the carrier, racing past damaged TIE Fighters that are lined up to dock, blasting several of them as they fly past. The Falcon veers off at the last moment and Rey and Poe fly into the main hangar via one of two main entrances, guns blazing, make a tight turn, Poe is even touching the ceiling with his wing-tips, they both launch missiles inside the hangar before they dive down the other hangar-opening. The four missiles detonate inside the hangar and the entire main hangar blows up, great explosions erupting out of the hangar-openings. Poe howls with excitement!

Finn grins wide. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

_**_**The Xiphos**_**_****:****

Admiral Harloff and Grand Admiral Armitage both watch as the carrier suffers internal explosions, seeing the vessel clearly from the bridge of their Star Destroyer.

****Kylo Rens Star Destroyer:****

Kylo Ren sees the carrier burning as well from the bridge of his ship. Without saying anything, he turns and leaves with determined strides. Moments later, his personal fighter-craft leaves the Star Destroyer and heads for the carrier at maximum speed.

_**The Xiphos**_**:**

Harloff recieves a datapad with a report from the ships captain. "Sir, the Supreme Leader has joined the fight, flying his starfighter."

Armitage turns to Harloff and considers his options.

Harloff looks up from the report. "Do we do it? It is now or never."

Armitage nods. "Do it. Inform the holqawans... Get it done."

_**_**The Raddus**_**_****:****

The battle rages in the corridors, the stormtroopers slowly being pushed back. Rose follows the main fighting, helping wounded being dragged back to medical-staff. Rose then spots a wall-plating being slightly off. She gets curious, moves over and moves the panel to the side and spots an explosive.

"Take Cover!" she calls out and runs away.

The explosive detonates, along with five other explosives hidden in the walls. A huge number of Republic troops gets caught in the blast. Rose wakes up, covered in debris, thick smoke filling the corridor, dead bodies around her. Out of nowhere, Maz shows up and pulls Rose on her feet.

"Move, Rose!" Maz tells her. "Move!"

They run away from the blast-area. Behind them, two battle-droids emerge out of the smoke, behind them a huge unit of stormtroopers follow. Eventually, Captain Phasma emerges out of the smoke, stepping over the dead bodies.

****Battle of Holqawa'weyu:****

Rey, Poe and the Falcon race back towards the Republic fleet, chased by TIE Fighters. Finn and Froff cover their rear with their turrets. Out of nowhere, Poe takes several hits and he is forced to leave the others to avoid incoming fire. Kylo Ren races after Poe, pushing Poe to his limits just to stay alive as Kylo keeps firing at Black Leader.

BB-8 screams and Poe is lit up by flashing red lights in his cockpit. "I've lost shields!"

Kylo locks on to Black Leader and opens fire. Poe's FT-6 explodes! Rey is disheartened, a piece of her world falling apart. Finn sees from his turret the remains of Poe's fighter and he too feels empty inside. Rey frowns and pulls her controls, her fighter making a tight turn, heading back.

Chewie growls at Rey and Finn is frustrated that he can't do anything. "Rey! No, damn it! Come back! It's no use, it's too dangerous!"

Rey flies in towards Kylos fighter and opens fire. Kylo looks over his shoulder and then turns his attention back to flying. Kylo leads Rey through the battle, past warships and burning wrecks. Rey is determined, filled with rage, to gun him down!

_**_**The Raddus**_**_****:****

Maz and Rose hurry down the corridors. They duck into cover as they come across a unit of stormtroopers. Maz returns fire and then they flee down another corridor. Stormtroopers cut them off. They are trapped in a junction with two units of enemy soldiers firing at them. Maz can hardly shoot back due to the incoming fire. A grenade ends up close to Maz and Rose. Maz quickly opens a door and pushes Rose inside. Then, the grenade detonates. Rose looks up and as the smoke clears, she sees Maz on the floor, dead.

Stormtroopers secure the junction and one kicks Maz's body.

"She's dead" the trooper says.

Other stormtroopers enter the room where Rose found cover. They search it and find nothing. What they fail to detect is the one floor-plating that is slightly off and that slowly falls into place again. Rose is crawling through a tight space, barely able to fit between pipes, cables and wires; she is crying, desperate and afraid, covered in sot.

On the bridge, Sky Marshall Yorrick watches as Republic soldiers aim their guns at the closed blast-doors. Plasma-cutters work their way through the blast-doors, slowly cutting them open. In the end, the blast-doors gets blown open and a shoot-out begins between stormtroopers and Republic troops. It does not take long before the Republic forces are overwhelmed and gunned down. Yorrick is left on the bridge, with two guards protecting him, their blasters aimed at the enemy. Phasma steps inside, followed by the red Stormtroopers, aims and fires two shots, killing the two guards.

"Captain Phasma" Yorrick says.

Phasma walks up to Yorrick. "Sir. On behalf of Grand Admiral Armitage, I hereby welcome you to the ranks of the First Order, Sky Marshall Yorrick."

"The ship is yours, captain" Yorrick says.

At that point, dozens of First Order officers and crew enter the bridge and take over, manning each station on the bridge.

****Battle for Holqawa'weyu:****

__The Raddus__ powers up its engines and begins to slowly leave formation, heading straight for the First Order fleet. Then, it begins to open fire on all nearby Republic vessels.

_**_**The Spirit of Alderaan**_**_****:****

The cruiser that saved the troops on Crait Six in Episode 8 takes part in the battle. On its bridge, Admiral Hera Syndulla is still in command, and she can't believe what she is seeing from the viewports; __The Raddus__ leaving formation and firing at nearby friendly ships.

"Raddus, please respond" Syndulla says over the communicator. "Captain Ellis, what are you doing?! Sky Marshall Yorrick, what are your orders?!"

"No response, admiral" the captain of the __Spirit of Alderaan__ says.

Syndulla can only look on as the massive flagship leaves formation. "She's lost."

****Rey versus Kylo:****

Rey follows Kylo, firing her guns time and time again, but Kylo is too skilled a pilot and avoids most of the incoming fire. Kylo flies in close along a destroyed cruiser and Rey loses him among the debris. She checks her scanners, looks around her from the cockpit, desperately trying to locate Kylo. Then, out of nowhere, he attacks her and pursues her; the roles are reversed. Only Rey is not as good a pilot as Kylo. She loses shields, her engines get hit and her wings gets blasted. She loses control. The, the incoming fire stops. Rey is unsure what has taken place, and then spots Kylos fighter leaving. In his fighter, Kylo flips some switches, turns a dial and calmly heads back to his own Star Destroyer. That is when he recieves word from his Star Destroyer.

"Supreme Leader, six holqawan fighters are heading your way. They refuse to respond to our hails."

"As expected" Kylo says. "I will deal with them."

Kylo veers off and heads straight for the hostile ships and engages them head on; the holqawan fighters looking like the Porsche Star Wars fighter.

_**_**The Raddus**_**_****:****

A panel in the ceiling opens and Rose climbs down. She finds herself close to the escape-pods. She hurries over, climbs inside and launches herself into space. The mighty warship that is the flagship is seen from her pod as it quickly increases distance. Rose pulls her legs up to her chest, hugs them and cries heavily.

****Battle for Holqawa'weyu:****

One by one, the Republic ships get destroyed by incoming fire. It is a massacre. The Republic doesn't stand a chance.

Kylo guns down a couple of the holqawan fighters.

A K-52 Strongarm vessel cuts through the battle, gunning down First Order fighters; Lando and Jannah at the helm with Zorii manning a turret.

"Told you didnt, I?" Lando grins.

Zorii is still not impressed. "I still say this is a piece of rusted garbage!"

"Don't say that" Lando grins. "All she needs is a bit of love."

Jannah is not amused. "Unfortunately, this is a bad place looking for love!"

Lando looks around the battle. "Whatta hell is the Republic doing? They have to punch through the enemy fleet, take them on at point blank range. Right now they're all sitting ducks."

"This is why I stay away from fleets and battles!" Zorii growls and fires her turret.

_**_**The Spirit of Alderaan**_**_****:****

Admiral Syndulla, having lost all hope, slowly walk up to the viewports and witness the destruction of the fleet.

A wing of First Order TIE Bombers fly in towards the ship and drop their payload, causing great explosions along the hull of the cruiser.

Syndulla sees a pair of bombs coming towards her. The bridge gets utterly destroyed by the blast.

_**_**The Xiphos**_**_****:****

Grand Admiral Armitage places his cup of tea to the side and gently wipes his mouth with a napkin, watching the burning ships in the distance. A fierce smile grows on his lips at the moment of victory.

Harloff walks up to Armitage. "Grand Admiral... The Supreme Leader has returned to his ship... unharmed. He survived the battle."

Armitage gives it a moments thought. "Erase all links between us and the holqawan squadron. Make sure it looks like rebellious officers acting on their own. Loyalists to the former government."

"Off course, sir" Harloff says. "I have already given the order."

"Good."

****Holqawa'weyu Aftermath:****

Wrecks of ships, burning, some merely skeletons of their former glory, fill the void. Debris is everywhere, filling up space. A First Order probe-droid finds a FT-6 Pike cockpit ejected from the fighter, the pilot alive inside. The probe-droid moves on, but shortly afterwards a First Order shuttle appears and blasts the ejected cockpit. Another probe-droid discovers an escape-pod and inside are eight Republic crewmembers. As the probe-droid watches, a shuttle destroys the pod. Ejected cockpits and escape-pods are destroyed by the hundreds across the battlefield.

Inside the wreck of a cruiser, an FT-6 cockpit is floating. In it, Poe is still alive and BB-8 is still operational behind him. They watch as pods gets destroyed in the distance.

"Don't worry, little guy" Poe says. "They wont find us in here. I think. Let me worry about the search-teams and you just figure out a way to get us out of here."

_**_**The Xiphos**_**_****:****

Admiral Harloff enters a lounge where Armitage and Yorrick are enjoying a exquisite dinner together, spared no expense. From the viewports of the lounge, we can see the devastated remains of the Republic fleet.

"Sir" Harloff says. "The fleet has moved on and will engage the shipyards at Megaya in four days. Reports from the other engagements indicate a total success, apart from Giankara. But our victories elsewhere has forced the Republic to abandon the system, so Giankara is once more in our control."

"Excellent, admiral" Armitage grins. "Oversee the details of the invasion, will you? I think I will enjoy this victory a moment longer."

Harloff bows, turns and leaves. Yorrick watches as the door closes behind the admiral and then he turns his attention back at Armitage.

"Have you informed the holqawan monarch that he is to be replaced by me as governor over his territories?" Yorrick asks.

"Not yet" Armitage admits. "All in due time. First, we need some level of stability in this region before we move on. But fear not, Governor Yorrick, soon enough you will be given all that was promised."

Yorrick raises his glass in a toast and Armitage mirrors him and they both smile viciously.

****Rey versus Kylo:****

Attached to a large piece of floating debris is Rey's heavily damaged fighter. In the cockpit, Rey receives an update from R2D2.

"There's got to be something you can do?" Rey says, earning a response from the droid. "No, I can't hold my breath for that long." R2 beeps again. "Alright, I get it. Calm down, will you."

"Leanna."

Rey reacts to Kylos voice. "What do you want, you monster?"

Kylo is standing in his personal lounge, looking out at the devastation. "Come to me. Let us talk, face to face. It does not have to be this way. It does not have to end like this."

"If you think I will surrender to you, you are a damned fool" Rey snarls. "Your men are attacking defenseless escape-pods! Attacking defenseless pilots that have ejected! You are a monster and a fiend! A tyrant and a murderer!"

"I'll stop the killing" Kylo says. "I'll order my men to take prisoners instead. If you will come to me. You can save all your comrades, Leanna. If you will only come to me."

Rey is surprised by the offer. She has no choice but to consider it. "How can I trust you to keep your word?"

Kylo moves his eyes across the ruined ships. "I told you before. I will always be loyal to you. I will never lie to you. You have my word."

Rey takes a deep breath. "Alright" she says. "I'll come to you. Tell your men to hold their fire."

Rey's fighter detaches itself from the large piece of floating hull and ignites one engine to give her momentum, slowly making her way towards the small squadron of First Order ships still in orbit over the planet.

****Poe's Fighter:****

BB-8 beeps frantically and Poe soon realizes why. A probe-droid is climbing around inside the wrecked cruiser. Poe is sweating, breathing heavily as he watches the droid and its search-lights and scanning-beams. Then, it spots them, moves quickly to get a better view and aims lights and scanners straight at Poe's face. Poe fears the worse and braces himself for the incoming fire. A First Order craft appears and turns to face the cockpit. The cockpit shakes and gets pulled out of the wreck. Poe doesn't know what to make of it and then his cockpit is secured by a pair of grappling-claws underneath the craft. Poe can only watch and follow along as the craft moves towards a larger cruiser. Poe spots several other craft, similar to the one having caught him, moving to the cruiser as well.

****POW Barge:****

A pair of mag-clamps lifts Poe's cockpit up through an opening in the belly of the ship and into a large hangar. A dozen stormtroopers stand ready with weapons as the cockpit gets settled on the floor and a droid cuts open the canopy. With the canopy removed, Poe gets on his feet, hands in the air.

"If it wasn't obvious, I surrender" Poe says.

Two stormtroopers grab him and pull Poe violently out of the cockpit. An officer steps up to Poe and give him a demeaning look over.

"Secure him, and deliver the droid to the slicers and have it prepared for data-extraction" the officer says.

Poe gets dragged away and escorted by four stormtroopers. BB-8 worriedly looks on as a cruel-looking droid closes in on him.

**The Strongarm:**

Landos ship is hidden deep inside a wreckage. Zorii enters the cockpit and is not pleased.

"Great, just great, Lando. What a brilliant idea to get a bucket of bolts and join in on the fighting. Instead of just leaving and saving our skins."

"We're not dead yet" Lando points out.

"But for how long?" Jannah wonders, looking out the viewports of the cockpit.

Zorii shakes head head. "Not long enough."

**_**To be continued…**_**


	8. Chapter 8

**POW Barge:**

Poe is taken into a long corridor with cells along both walls. He is pushed into a cell together with a couple of other Republic pilots and crewmembers.

"Poe?"

Poe turns around and sees Rose in the opposite cell of his. "Rose!"

"Thank the Force you're alive" Rose says and smiles.

Poe realizes what must have happened. "The Raddus? They got the flagship?"

Rose frowns. "They got it alright. The Sky Marshall betrayed us, Poe. He's a traitor. He smuggled onboard a full regiment of stormtroopers. They took her over. The Raddus is now part of the First Order fleet."

"Yorrick?" Poe says. "A traitor?"

Captain Phasma steps into view and looks directly at Poe. "The troublesome pilot" she says. "You escaped me on Jakku. You escaped me on Canto Bight. You will not escape me now."

"Don't be too sure" Poe says defiantly. "This is all part of my plan."

"Interesting" Phasma says. "Let's discuss this plan of yours." She takes a step back. "Bring him."

The cell opens and four stormtroopers step inside, two of them hit Poe with stun-batons and the other two hit the other prisoners to force them back. Poe is dragged from the cell and the cell-door closes again. Rose can only watch as Phasma and the stormtroopers leave with Poe being dragged along.

"Poe!" Rose calls out, pressing herself against the bars. "POE!"

**Kylo Rens Star Destroyer:**

Rey flies in towards the massive warship, escorted by two TIE Fighters. The TIE's veers off and she alone approaches a small docking-bay. She enters with her shot-up fighter and lands next to Kylos TIE Fighter. As Rey climbs out of her craft, R2 is lowered to the floor. Rey draws her pistol and carefully investigates her surroundings; walking up to a railing she sees Kylos personal shuttle landed on a lower landing-pad. No crew or soldiers visible, only a couple of droids doing routine duties. She turns around and is startled by the Force Ghost of Luke Skywalker.

"This is as far as I can go" Luke tells her. "Walk through that door, and I can not help you."

"Why?" Rey asks. "I'm all alone here. Why wont you help me?"

"The Dark Side" Luke says. "It… It is far too strong here. Stronger than Jacen could have become in this short time on his own. It's preventing me from following you. It's almost like a nexus of the Dark Side has emerged on this ship. But that's impossible. I don't know what is going on here, but Jacen is more dangerous than you and I ever thought possible. Facing him on your own will put you in grave and terrible danger."

"I have no choice" Rey says.

"You're not ready" Luke says. "This was a mistake. You have to leave."

"And then Kylo Ren will kill everyone out there!" Rey argues. "I have to face him! It's the only way to stop him!"

Luke walks up to Rey and looks at her with grim eyes. "This is not going to end the way you think."

Rey simply shrugs and shakes her head. "What other choice do I have?"

Rey leaves Luke and heads for the door and leaves the hangar-bay. R2 makes noises indicating his worries. Luke lowers his head and sighs, worried for what is to come.

Rey cautiously enters Kylos personal lounge, pistol drawn. Kylo, standing by the viewports, turns around and they lock eyes.

Kylo sighs and nods. "You don't know how happy this makes me."

"Happy?" Rey asks, as ever cautious.

"Yes. Happy. For far too long have we been separated" Kylo says. "We belong together. We are Skywalkers. We should not be enemies."

Rey frowns. "Comes from the man who murdered his own father. Killed his own mother. Betrayed his own uncle. And exiled his own cousin to live a life of servitude, starving, forced to beg every day for a drop of water, forced to scavenge just to stay alive!"

"I'm sorry" Kylo says. "The Supreme Leader deceived me. Tricked me when I was young and naïve. I was a stupid child who knew nothing of the world. But that has changed. I am wiser now. More powerful. I have a greater understanding of the Force. And I realize that Creel and the Knights of Ren were the real enemy. I am tired, Leanna. So tired. My own officers conspire against me, plotting to have me killed. They don't fear me like they feared Creel. They think I'm weak. I am tired of it! Our grandfather was a pawn of the Jedi. And a pawn of the Sith. Uncle Luke was asked by the Jedi to kill his own father. I was tricked to fight for the Knights of Ren. People have always been jealous of us, jealous of our powers. They have always tried to deceive us, to trick us, to give us orders and commands, they have always expected of us to obey. I am tired of it. We should not be told what to do. We should do what we want. Join me, Leanna. Let us reshape the galaxy. Right all the wrongs. Root out corruption and replace it with law and order. You and me, together."

"You expect me to forget what you've done?" Rey frowns. "Forget that you took me from my family?! That you left me on that cursed rock and doomed me to slavery! Do you have any idea what I have done in order to just simply survive?! What I have done to earn a simple cup of water?! You Took Everything From Me!"

Rey aims her blaster at Kylo, rage prompting her to shoot. Logic telling her it's no use.

"Listen to reason, Leanna" Kylo says and clenches his fist. "You and I, we can conquer the galaxy! Destroy all our enemies. Uphold what ever laws we desire. Bring order to the chaos. Create our own order! We don't need the Jedi, Ren or the Sith. As long as we have each other, we don't need any of them. Join me!"

"I will never join you" Rey says and holsters her blaster. "I will never join Kylo Ren. Listen to me, Jacen. I know you struggle with the path you've chosen. I know you don't want this life. I know you regret the death of your parents. Creel is dead, there is nothing holding you back anymore. Nothing to force you to stay with the Dark Side. Come back with me, Jacen. I can feel your struggle, I can feel your desire to walk away from the darkness. To become Jacen Solo again. Let me help you. I can not forgive Kylo Ren, but I can forgive Jacen Solo."

Kylo slowly walks over to an archway by the wall. "It is too late for me, I fear" he says and pushes a button and the archway opens, revealing Darth Vaders mask and the Sith holocron within. Kylo picks up the holocron and holds it for Rey to see. "Jacen Solo is gone. Kylo Ren is dead."

"Dead?" Rey says, feeling insecure. Kylo looks at his cousin.

"I am Darth Bane. Herald of the Sith."

"What have you done?"

**POW Barge:**

Poe Dameron is secured to a terrible torture-rig, screaming from pain as electricity shocks him. He hangs his head from exhaustion, barely able to stay conscious.

An interogation-officer turns to Phasma. "Do you have any questions for the prisoner, captain?"

"No" Phasma says. "No questions at all. Continue at your own discretion, doctor. But keep him alive. I will see you in the morning."

Phasma leaves the room and Poe looks up at the doctor. The doctor smiles.

"You've managed to make this personal" he tells Poe. "I am impressed. Phasma usually wants her prisoners killed as soon as possible. But not you. I will be happy to oblige her."

Poe gets shocked again and screams from pain.

**Kylo versus Rey:**

Kylo holds out his hand and lets the red-glowing holocron float into midair until it hovers in front of Rey.

"The source to all power" he says. "Knowledge. Wisdom. I am willing to share it with you."

"You want me to become a Sith?"

"I want you to understand" Kylo says. "I want you to realize your importance. What the two of us are capable of."

"You only want me to join you, so that you can fulfill your selfish quest for more power" Rey says. "The Sith used Anakin Skywalker for their own needs. The Jedi used our uncle. And now you try to manipulate me, just like Creel fooled you to become a mad dog kept on a leash."

"I'm not trying to fool you!" Kylo growls, frustrated by the conversation, the holocron returning to his hand. "I'm trying to open your eyes! The Republic will exploit your powers! They will make you wait for an order given by a senator or admiral, send you on a mission, use you like a weapon! Just like Creel did with me! But if we join forces, there will be nothing to stop us!"

"Stop us from doing what?!" Rey argues. "Conquer the galaxy? Wage war on thousands of planets? Kill millions of innocent lives?!"

"We would be free!" Kylo growls with anger. "Free to do as we please! Free to never be used and exploited by corrupt politicians and warmongers! Free to chose our own destiny!"

"You are talking about creating an empire."

"I am talking about the two of us being free."

"Killing anyone who stands in our way?"

"Defending ourselves from all who wish us harm!"

"There is no escape from the Dark Side" Rey says. "It would eat at our souls until nothing remained but our fears and hate. What kind of life would that be?"

"A life where no-one gets to tell us what to do" Kylo says. "A life where we chose our own futures."

"I've already chosen mine" Rey says. "If my cousin, Jacen Solo, truly is dead, then I must avenge him."

"Uncle would be disappointed" Kylo says. "Revenge is not the Jedi way."

Rey retrieves her dual-lightsaber from the belt. "I am no Jedi" she says and ignites both blue blades.

Kylo ignites his own weapon. "So be it."

They lunge at each other and lightsabers clash.

**POW Barge:**

Poe is hanging limp from the torture-rig. The doctor injects a green liquid that wakes him up.

"There he is" the doctor says. "It would be a shame if you missed anything of what I have in store for you." The door-chime sounds and interrupts the doctor. "Now what?" the doctor says annoyed and walks over to the door.

He opens it and is surprised to find Froff on the other side. Froff lands a punch and sends the doctor flying across the room, much to Poe's surprise, not to mention the doctor's associates. Chewie steps inside and guns down a medical-droid. Poqmoq guns down an interrogation-officer, as does Niel. Finn steps inside and then shoots the last of the First Order medical-officers. Froff and Lagro enter and closes the door behind them. Finn hurries over to Poe.

"Are you alright?" Finn asks as he helps Poe down.

Lagro helps Finn to support Poe.

"They got you too?" Poe asks, exhausted from the torture. "You got out?"

"Hell no" Finn says. "We got onboard the same way we got onboard the Starkiller. We snuck up on them and got in via an airlock."

Poqmoq hands Poe a stormtrooper-blaster and Chewie growls. "Yeah" Poe nods. "I'm fit for fight, don't worry about me. What's the plan?"

"They're picking up survivors and taking prisoners" Finn says. "These prison-barges can hold up to two-thousand convicts. But has only a crew of two-hundred. So the plan is simple; we free everyone and take over the ship and hyperspace the hell out of here."

Poe nods. "So what are we waiting for?"

**Kylo versus Rey:**

Kylo and Rey fight! Rey pulls her blaster and shoots, Kylo ducks and swings with his lightsaber, cutting the blaster in half. The fight continues. Eventually, their lightsabers get locked in a classic fashion.

"Good!" Kylo snarls. "Your hate has made you powerful! Give in to your anger! Trust your rage!"

Rey pushes him back and the fight continues. They back away, catch their breaths while aiming their weapons at one another.

"You can not win" Kylo says confidently. "You can never win as long as you're holding back. You're as powerful as Creel predicted, but I sense my uncle's teachings in you. You're trying to ignore your instincts. Following foolish Jedi dogma. Ignoring your anger. Let me help you… I took you from your father, I left you on Jakku and doomed you to a life of slavery, starvation and thirst. A miserable life where you were forced to defile yourself to stay alive. I destroyed your life. I destroyed your family. I took away everything in your life that you held dear! Everything you ever dreamed of! I Took It All!"

Rey howls with hatred as she charges Kylo. She attacks with furious rage, pushing him back with each strike, forcing him to parry with both hands gripping his hilt. Rey shuts down one of her blades and with both hands strikes time and time again with the still active one. Kylo parries desperately the furious attacks aimed at him. But then, Kylo uses her rage against her and outmaneuvers her, pinning her up against the wall, their lightsabers crossed mere inches from their faces; both lightsabers cutting into the wall itself.

"Your hate has made you powerful!" Kylo growls through grinding teeth. "I know you can feel it! I can teach you to harness it. To control it. To master it! Give yourself to the Dark Side! Release your anger!"

Rey screams and manage to push Kylo away from her and the fight continues as she once more relies on both of her blades.

**POW Barge:**

BB-8 is secured in a data-extraction rig, two sinister looking droids operating the cruel looking devices that are lowered into position to drill holes into BB-8 and begin a forceful download of his memories and files. The door opens as the control-panel on the wall explodes and Poe quickly steps inside and guns down the two interrogation-droids. BB-8 appears to faint as he lets out a long beep and lets his head fall back.

"Come on, little guy" Poe says. "We got a ship to commandeer."

_**To be continued…**_


	9. Chapter 9

****POW Barge:****

First Order officers assigned to oversee the prison-cells sit by their consoles. Their communicator activates and the senior officer turns on a screen; Finn, dressed as a stormtrooper, is seen on the screen.

"Another batch of POW's" Finn says, hidden behind his helmet.

The senior officers nod. "Alright, bring 'em in."

He reaches over and pushes a button and the security-door opens, leaving only bars to allow the officers to double-check the prisoner-transport. Chewie steps up and uses brute strength to lift the barred door. The officers hurry to draw their blasters, but Froff steps inside and opens fire with a repeater-blaster, spraying the room with blaster-rounds, killing everyone and destroying everything! The others step inside and simply look around at the devastation.

Poe turns to Froff. "Subtle."

Finn steps inside and throws his helmet to the side. "Yeah well, the crew of the Falcon is not known for doing things subtle. BB-8, do your thing."

BB-8 moves past them all and hooks up to a droid-socket. Within seconds, the doors to the prison-section open. Poqmoq and Largo steps in first, guns ready, and shoots a couple of guards in the long corridor. The sudden shootout has all prisoners on their feet and running up to the cell-doors. Then, the doors open and they all step outside. As Rose leaves the cell, Poe and Finn are there to greet her. Both Finn and Poe are surprised as Rose throws herself in Finn's arms and hugs him. She realizes its an awkward moment and backs away.

"Great job, guys" Rose says, trying not to sound emotional. "So what's next?"

"We take over the ship" Finn says.

"How?" Rose asks.

Chewie growls and everyone turns to look at the fully armed to the teeth crew of the __Millennium Falcon__, standing ready to continue with the mission, weapons resting against their shoulders; a proper hero-shot.

****Kylo versus Rey:****

Rey and Kylo are still fighting, their lightsaber cutting through equipment, furniture, walls and floors. The fight leaves the lounge and enters the hangar-bay, the fight going on around Kylos TIE Fighter and Reys FT-6 Pike fighter, with R2 taking cover not to get caught in the melee. The FT-6's blaster-cannons on a wing gets chopped off at one point, then as their blades get locked, the blades cut into the solar-panels of Kylos fighter and Rey pushes Kylo back, both blades cutting the solar-panels and leaving a bright yellow trail of molten metal. The railings around the platform get cut and severed. As the lightsabers strike the force-field by the open hangar-bay door the force-field flashes blue. Eventually, Kylo manages to rip Rey's lightsaber from her hands and throws it away. He goes after her with his weapon, forcing Rey to duck out of the way time and time again until she too manages to disarm Kylo and as the lightsaber bounces on the floor, she uses the Force to push it away down a level.

Without lightsabers, it's a fists on fists brawl, combined with kicks and Force powers. They throw stuff at one another, ducking and rolling to avoid getting hit. In the end, they end up Force Choking one another, trying to overpower the other. Slowly, they both fall to their knees, hands extended and griping each throat through the Force. They both fall over, exhausted, panting, barely able to stay awake.

"Why?" Rey asks between heavy breaths. "Why are you doing this?"

Kylo takes a moment to catch his breath. "Because… Because you were going to have a normal life… You were not going to become a Jedi. Just a normal child, with a normal life. You were going to have everything I sacrificed. Everything I was forced to give up. Everything my parents denied me when they sent me to uncle Luke's academy. All I had was to become a Jedi. To learn the secrets of the Force. To become as powerful as I ever could be. When uncle Luke decided not to teach you, he started to doubt himself, he started to doubt his ability to teach. He started to doubt me. Doubt my abilities. He refused to let me grow, to let me learn the greater secrets of the Force. I had devoted my entire life to becoming a Jedi! And he took it all away from me! I gave him everything and he turned his back on me! He threw me to the side like garbage! He held me back! He doubted my abilities! He took my loyalty, my devotion, all my hard work and threw it away and spat me in the face!"

Rey slowly sits up as she listens to Kylo. "I get it… You devoted your life to become a Jedi… and then my father began to question it all… He gave up on you. And on top of it, I was going to have what you never had… a normal life. No wonder Creel could turn you. I get it, I do. You blamed your parents for all the experiences you were never going to have. And you blamed my father for the power you were never going to achieve. Powers you were denied. A life you could never have. And once in the grip of the Dark Side, there was no turning back. And now it dominates your destiny."

"There is so much more" Kylo says. "The Dark Side is so much more than hatred and anger. It goes beyond fear and control. It is power, Leanna. The power to do what ever you want. To control your own destiny. I can show you. I can show you what no Jedi ever could."

"How?"

Kylo retrieves the holocron from a pocket in his belt and holds it out in his palm. "The holocron will help you understand. It contains no lies, only truth." The holocron is moved with the Force from Kylo's hand to hover in front of Rey. "Take it. Trust me, Leanna. It wont harm you. It will only show you the truth."

Rey has her eyes locked on the holocron.

****POW Barge:****

A large room on the ship hosts officers and stormtroopers, crewmen operating consoles and stations. At the far end, a door opens and a stormtroopers steps inside. Some of the crew look up and then return to their duties. The stormtrooper takes a moment and looks around, then gives a wave at the door. The crew of the __Millennium Falcon__ charges in, guns blazing, followed by a bunch of freed prisoners armed with stormtrooper-blasters; they take the crew of the POW Barge by complete surprise.

* * *

Phasma enters the bridge of the ship, followed by six stormtroopers.

"Captain" an officer on the bridge says. "The prisoners have escaped and are trying to take over the ship."

"Lock down the bridge" Phasma says. "Call in reinforcements from the __Xiphos__. I will hold them off."

"Yes, captain."

Phasma and the stormtroopers heads for the exit and as the door opens, Phasma finds herself face to face with Chewie; Chewies bowcaster is aimed from the hip, Phasma looks up at Chewie who growls and fires, sending Phasma flying across the bridge. The crew of the __Falcon__, followed by the freed prisoners, charge the bridge, gun down the stormtroopers and some of the crew. A handful of crew and officers surrender and are taken prisoner.

Finn walks over to Phasma and looks down at her. She is still alive.

"FN-2187." Phasma struggles to say the numbers.

"Finn" Finn says. "My name is Finn" and he shoots her.

Poe takes a look around, stormtrooper-blaster held against his shoulder, he nods with a smile. "The ship is ours."

The soldiers of the Republic cheer and embrace! Rose walks up to Finn with a smile and gives him another hug. Poe kneels next to BB-8 and pats him on the head.

****Kylo versus Rey:****

Rey is still focused on the holocron.

Kylo studies her. "Take it. That's all you have to do. Take it and judge for yourself. Or will you be as ignorant as the Jedi want you to be? Afraid to learn the truth?"

The holocron moves and ends up in Rey's hand and she takes it.

All of sudden, Rey finds herself in a great hall, a throne-room with First Order banners and Knights of Ren symbols ( __it is Creels throne-room on the First Order homeworld that we saw in my version of The Force Awakens __).

"What is this?" Rey says.

"What would have been, had your cousin not rejected your father" a frightening voice says. Rey spins around and finds herself face to face with the Sith Ghost of Darth Sidious. Sidious extends his hand towards a point beyond Rey. "Behold what would have taken place."

"Jacen Solo!" a chilling and familiar voice calls out.

Rey turns around and sees Supreme Leader Creel stepping down from his throne. Jacen Solo, dressed in the robes of a Jedi, armed with a green lightsaber, moves across the throne-room.

Creels face twists with a massive frown. "As arrogant as your uncle! You think you can come here and challenge me?!"

"I do not fear you" Jacen says. "Fear is the path to the Dark Side."

"You may not be afraid of me now, young Jedi" Creel says, "but you will be… You will be."

Creel ignites his purple lightsaber and attacks Jacen. Rey watches as the fight goes on together with the Sith Ghost. Jacen parries a blow from Creel and uses his cross-guard to cut through Creels staff/lightsaber; as Creels weapon is destroyed, Jacen uses the advantage to the fullest and cuts Creel from shoulder to hip across the torso with a single blow. Creel falls dead to the floor in two pieces and Jacen shuts down his lightsaber.

The scenery changes in an instant and Rey finds herself looking at Luke's Jedi Academy, intact, a beautiful summers-day. A couple of shuttles flies past overhead, speeders moving to and from the academy.

Sidious steps up behind Rey. "Witness what would have come to pass" he says chillingly.

Rey sees Luke Skywalker walking over a ridge, smiling and waving. Rey turns and sees herself walking up to Luke, a small ship on a landing-pad below the hill. Rey in the vision walks up to Luke and they embrace in a loving hug.

"Leanna!" a mans voice calls out.

Luke and Rey in the vision, along with Actual Rey, turn to look. Having just left the ship is a young man in his early twenties, carrying a small child, a boy of one years old. He walks the hill and Vision Rey runs to meet him, kisses the man and then picks up the boy. Actual Rey is at a loss, unable to take in what she is seeing. The family walks up to Luke, Vision Rey carrying the small boy.

"Ben" Vision Rey says. "This is your grandfather."

Vision Rey and her husband begin to play with the child. Actual Rey reaches out after them, a tear falling from her eyes, unable to say anything, unable to wrap her mind around what she is actually presented with. Then, Luke turns to look directly at her. Darth Sidious hisses like a viper and withdraws, fading into nothing and vanishes into veils of smoke.

"You should not be here" Luke says, looking straight at Actual Rey. "You have to leave."

Actual Rey doesn't know what to do, what to say, what to think.

Luke calls out angrily at her, "NOW!" and uses the Force to Force Push her.

Rey is pulled from the vision, the holocron falling to the floor and bouncing a couple of times. She breathes heavily, trying to understand what she has seen, what she has experienced. She looks up and finds Kylo Ren standing not far from her.

"I can feel your anger" Kylo says. "At last you understand. Your hatred will make you more powerful than you could possibly imagine. You can feel it, as can I. The wrath of the Dark Side will grant you everything you ever dreamed of. That is the promise of the Sith."

Rey slowly gets back on her feet and looks at her cousin, and hate can be clearly seen radiating from her eyes. In hiding, carefully watching Kylo and Rey, is R2D2; he goes back into hiding and extends a small antenna that begins to spin.

****POW Barge:****

A First Order shuttle, used to collect escape-pods and ejected pilots, docks with the mothership, lowers its boarding-ramp and four stormtroopers escort twelve prisoners onto the larger vessel.

"Move it, Republic scum" one of the troopers says.

But then, they are faced with the hangar-bay filled with armed Republic crewmen, pilots and soldiers, together with Finn and Poe.

Poe picks the weapon from one of the stormtroopers. "Sorry, guys. I guess we forgot to tell you before you docked, but this ship now belongs to the Republic."

The stormtroopers spot two dozen other stormtroopers and a handful of First Order pilots and officers on their knees, with hands behind their backs and held at gunpoint in the middle of the hangar-bay by the Republic forces. The recent captives are moved over to the others.

"Two more transports coming in" Poe says. "Then we've got 'em all."

Finn nods. "We should send them back out and pick up what survivors we can."

"Good idea" Poe says. "But we can't stay here for too long. Sooner or later we'll be discovered and this barge was never meant to go head to head with a Star Destroyer."

BB-8 rolls up to Poe and Finn and beeps frantically.

"What's wrong?" Finn asks.

Poe seems both confused and worried. "He says he's picked up a signal from R2D2. He says that Rey has turned to the Dark Side."

Moments later, Finn walks with determined strides through the corridors, followed by Poe and Rose as he enters a small hangar-bay where a shuttle is waiting. Finn is wearing trousers belonging to a First Order officer and pulls the jacket on, not buttoning it.

"What ever you're gonna do" Poe says, "you wont have long. We can't stay here much longer. We have even less time with the risk of you getting caught."

"I know" Finn says, determination in his eyes.

Rose hands him a data-stick. "This stick has Captain Phasma's personal clearance-code attached to it" she says. "It will make it look like you're her courier."

Finn takes the stick and is about to get onboard the shuttle.

"Get her out of there as fast as you can" Poe says.

"Finn!" Rose says and places a foot on the boarding-ramp. "Be careful."

"Always" Finn says and enters the shuttle and Rose steps away.

The boarding-ramp closes and the airlock shuts. The shuttle leaves the POW Barge and heads for Kylo Rens personal Star Destroyer. Finn is in the cockpit, his uniform still not buttoned.

****Kylo versus Rey:****

Kylo extends his hand to Rey. "Join with me. Together, we could rule this galaxy! You could have everything you've ever wanted!"

"All I ever wanted" Rey says through grinding teeth, "You Took From Me!"

Rey extends her hand and her lightsaber is pulled to her; as she grips it, it ignites with one blade and she attacks Kylo! Unarmed, Kylo ducks and dodges each strike. Rey's wild swings strikes everything around them, leaving deep, glowing marks. Kylo uses the Force to move the FT-6 fighter in between him and Rey. As he jumps down one level to his personal shuttle, Rey leaps over the fighter. Kylo lands and pulls his own lightsaber to him and as Rey lands behind him, their blades clash once more!

****POW Barge:****

Poe follows Rose to a docking-bay on the ship.

"Here she is" Rose says as she directs Poe to a captured SF-17 bomber, parts of the crew standing next to the bomber. The bomber itself has on its side painted onto it a cartoon Gundark wrestling with a First Order pilot. "Her hyperdrive took a direct hit during the battle. The shield-generator is fried. She lost both gun-turrets and gunners. But…"

"She's got a full payload" a female says off screen. Poe and Rose turn around. "Captain Clara Beylor" the bombers captain says, her one arm in bandages and unable to use it. "Commanding officer on the Brawling Gundark. Silver Squadron."

"Commander Poe Dameron, Black Leader. Will she fly, captain?"

"She will fly, commander" Captain Beylor says without hesitation. "She's taken a beating, but she's tough. We were heading straight for a Star Destroyer when we took some hits from an ion-cannon that fried our power-distribution system. Took some more damage from the tractor-beam. But we've worked hard, Rose here was a lot of help, and the First Order were nice enough to lend us some spare parts. More importantly, we've got a full payload of forty-two proton-bomb, ready to be dropped on an enemy target."

Poe grins wide. "Oh, don't you worry, captain. We've got a target that will suit this baby just fine." Poe picks up his communicator. "Chewie, we're good to go down here."

Up on the bridge, the crew of the Falcon have taken control of the ship, with Chewie as the new captain. Chewie roars and growls commands and his alien crew reply in their own languages as they steer the ship.

**_**To be continued…**_**

__So I'm trying to explain what took place between Luke and Jacen, what made Jacen join Creel and why Luke ended up creating Kylo Ren. Instead of Ben Solo seeing Luke almost kill him, Jacen Solo realizes that his entire life, devoted to the Jedi, was for nothing when Luke begins to doubt his teachings. And to make things worse, when his cousin wont become a Jedi and get to live a normal life, Jacen gets jealous that Leanna will have all the things that Jacen was forced to give up. So he begins to blame his parents for all the things he will never experience, and he blames his uncle for all the power he will never achieve. And that is when Creel seduces him to the Dark Side. But what about Rey in this What If Scenario of Episode 9? Well, Kylo is really playing on all the anger and frustration Rey has felt over the years of Jakku, on all the emotions of being abandoned and longing for being loved. And Rey can't fight it; Kylo Ren is responsible for all the torments in her life. She hates him with a vengeance. And of course, when Darth Sidious shows her what could have been, in another life… Well, Rey is in trouble.__


	10. Chapter 10

****Finn:****

Finn and his shuttle reaches Kylo Rens Star Destroyer and enters the hangar-bay. As he leaves the shuttle, his uniform is in perfect condition and an officer and two stormtroopers walks up to him.

"What is the meaning of this?" the officer inquires. "We were not informed of any shuttle arriving at this hour?"

Finn hands the officer the data-stick he was given by Rose. "I am here on a personal assignment on behalf of Captain Phasma, to deliver a report to the Supreme Leader himself."

"Is that so?" the officer says, retrieves the stick and checks the information on it.

"I trust there wont by any problems, lieutenant" Finn says. "I would hate to point you out personally to Captain Phasma as the reason my information was not delivered to the Supreme Leader."

"All seems to be in order" the officer says, a bit skeptical. "Carry on, lieutenant."

"As you were" Finn says, retrieves the data-stick and moves on, leaves the hangar-bay, walks down a corridor and enters an elevator.

****The ****_**_**Xiphos**_**_****:****

A butler-droid places a plate of fine dining on a table, the table covered with various delicacies and expensive wine. Yorrick and Armitage are enjoying the food and drink.

"So" Yorrick says. "When will you make your move?"

"Soon" Armitage says. "The Supreme Leader is distracted by a young girl. A girl strong in the Force like he is. He is obsessed with her. He has neglected many of his duties because of this, which has allowed me to place officers loyal to me in key positions throughout the First Order. Both at key military positions, as well as administrative. As soon as the Republic has been destroyed, I will deal with Kylo Ren."

Yorrick grins and offers a toast. "All hail the Supreme Leader."

"All hail the rise of the new empire" Armitage says as he grins and raises his glass of wine.

****Kylo vs Rey:****

Kylo backflips up on top of his shuttle and Rey jumps after, the fight continues up on the dorsal of the shuttle, between its giant bat-like wings. Kylo lands a kick in Rey's gut, sending her flying down and crashing onto the floor. He jumps after and she rolls out of the way and Kylos lightsaber stabs the flooring. Kylo goes on the offensive, pushing Rey back with each strike, until she has her back up against the wall. Their lightsabers are crossed and Rey is struggling to keep Kylos weapon away from her. Eventually the two blades gets so close they burn at her skin, wounding her entire left-hand side of the face, twisting skin and flesh from the intense heat. Rey screams from the pain! Kylo grabs her by the collar and throws her to the floor.

"You are beaten!" Kylo growls. "You are weak! I can make you strong! Strong enough to defeat me. Isn't that what you want? I can teach you!"

Rey slowly turns around, her face disfigured. "You would teach me to become strong enough to kill you? Why? Why would you do that?"

"Because then you will have to turn to the Dark Side" Kylo says. "And then you will see the truth. You will realize our potential. What we are destined to become. Let me teach you. Let me train you. Let me show you the true nature of the Force. Join with me. Join the Dark Side and you will have powers you could only dream of. If vengeance is all that will convince you to accept my offer, then I am willing to accept that. Join with me."

Kylo holds out his hand. Rey, able to see with only one eye, spots her lightsaber behind Kylo. She looks up at him and extends her hand to grab his, but tries to hide the fact that she is using her other hand to manipulate the her lightsaber.

At this point, Finn enters the hangar-bay and spots Kylo and Rey, and he sees that Rey is about to take Kylos hand.

"REY! NO! DON'T!" Finn calls out, pulls his blaster and fires three shots at Kylo.

Kylo deflects all three, the first two hit random objects in the hangar-bay, but the third is deflected directly back at Finn and hits him in the chest. Finn takes a step back from the hit, severely wounded. Rey is in chock at seeing Finn getting hit. Kylo reaches out with his hand and pulls Finn to him, Finn flying across the room and lands with his throat in Kylos grip, Kylos lightsaber impaling Finn through the torso.

Rey can't hold it in. "NOOOO!"

Kylo drops Finn to the floor, Finn's body lifeless, and then turns to look at Rey.

"Finally" Kylo says.

Rey pulls to her her lightsaber and ignites one blade, holding it with one hand. After only a few strikes at Kylo, Rey then pulls to her Finns blaster and after forcing Kylo to parry two more blows she fires the blaster at point-blank-range into his gut. Kylo steps back from the blast, and gets shot again in the gut by Rey. Kylo stumbles and falls over, holding his wounded abdomen. Rey shoots him one more time and he falls over on his back. As Rey watches, Kylo slowly tries to regain some strength, slowly turning over on all fours.

****POW Barge:****

The barge flies in towards the Xiphos and Kylo Rens Star Destroyer in orbit of the planet. The crew of the Millennium Falcon operating the bridge of the barge, with Chewie as its captain. Chewie growls something into his commlink.

In a hangar-bay, the __Brawling Gundark__ is being prepared to launch. Poe is in the cockpit, helmet on his head.

"The is the Brawling Gundark, we're good to go in just a minute" Poe tells Chewie over the commlink of his helmet.

Behind Poe, BB-8 gets secured in a droid-pit by Republic crew. Two other Republic crewmembers help Rose securing a spacesuit, she gives them the thumbs up and then climbs down into the bomb-section of the bomber.

"Are you sure this will work?" Rose asks as she is climbing down the ladder, surrounded by the proton-bombs.

"Sure it will" Poe says confidently. "They wont suspect a thing."

Rose is not as confident. "I'm more worried about the things we're not expecting."

On the bridge, Chewie growls his commands and the barge keeps closing in on the two First Order warships.

****Kylo vs Rey:****

Kylo, coughing blood and pale in the face, turns around and faces Rey. Her face is one of pure hate and utter contempt.

"At last…" Kylo coughs. "Finally… you understand."

"All I understand" Rey says, "is that you are a monster and you deserve no pity or remorse."

Rey aims the blaster at Kylo.

"Kill me and your journey to the Dark Side will be complete" Kylo tells her. "Do it! DO IT!"

Rey fires a single shot. Kylo falls over on his back and slowly his last breath escapes him. Rey drops the blaster, looks at Kylo's lifeless body and then runs over to Finn.

"Finn?! Finn?!" she calls out and grabs Finns body, but there is no reaction.

A sad R2D2 comes out of hiding and moves on over to Rey, obviously depressed judging by his behavior and sounds. Rey is hugging the body of Finn, crying a flood of tears.

****Planet of Ahch-To:****

Luke, a Force Ghost, falls to his knees in the Jedi Temple. In the distance, the roll of thunder is heard and rains sweep in over the island. Behind Luke, Yoda hangs his head and sighs, and then turns to look at a third Force Ghost; it is Obi-Wan Kenobi. He is stern as he says nothing, turns and leaves through a doorway. Yoda shakes his head and then slowly fades into nothing. Luke looks up at the cloud-covered skies as the rains pour down. Lightning strikes overhead. Luke is disheartened. He slowly turns and finds the Force Ghost of his father, Anakin Skywalker, looking back at him. Anakin too says nothing, but turns and walks away, fading away with each step until he is nothing but air. Luke hangs his head again, almost as if having lost hope.

****POW Barge:****

Poe is checking his cockpit. "Everyone good to go?" he asks.

BB-8 gives the ok.

"I'm ready" Rose says, standing at the bottom of the ladder in the bomb-section.

"Ok" Poe says and takes a deep breath. "Finn, you better have found a way out of there by down… Chewie, we're ready down here."

On the bridge, Chewie growls.

__The Brawling Gundark __gets released by the barge and falls down from its belly and heads for the __Xiphos__, igniting its engines and diving straight towards the large Star Destroyer.

"Hold on!" Poe says. "Igniting afterburners!"

The engines of the bomber burn that much more intense and the bomber gains more speed. Rose struggles to hold on as the ship gains momentum and she grabs the ladder.

On the bridge of the barge, Chewie gives a command and Poqmoq replies in his alien language and hits a button.

****Kylo Rens Star Destroyer:****

In the hangar-bay of Kylos personal battleship stands the shuttle Finn had arrived with. And in its cargo-hold are stacked a huge amount of explosives and a red light begins to blink rapidly. Seconds later, the explosives detonate, ripping the Star Destroyer apart from within, causing a series of explosions that spread throughout the ship.

In Kylo Rens personal hangar-bay, Rey feels the tremors and hears the rumble from the explosions. R2 beeps in panic. Rey grabs Finn and drags him along and up the ramp of Kylo Rens personal shuttle.

****The ****_**_**Xiphos**_**_****:****

Armitage and Yorrick get out of their chairs and walk up to the viewports and watch, astonished at what they are witnessing, as Kylo Rens Star Destroyer gets ripped apart from within.

****Rey and Finn:****

Kylo Rens personal shuttle leaves the hangar-bay just in time as a massive explosion rips it apart and the shuttle, with Rey at its controls, leaves the Star Destroyer behind. Moments later, the entire ship cracks into three pieces by a giant explosion and the three parts slowly fall towards the planet.

****The ****_**_**Brawling Gundark**_**_****:****

Poe watches the destroyed remains of the Star Destroyer. "I hope you got out" he says and then turns his attention at the Star Destroyer he is diving towards. "This is it, Rose! Get ready to drop the payload!"

Rose pulls a lever, but the bomb-doors don't open. She pulls it again and nothing happens.

"Rose?!" Poe says, a bit nervous, as they are closing in fast on the Star Destroyer.

"Hang on!" Rose says and then climbs down from her platform, attaching a tether between herself and the ladder, and begins to jump on the bomb-doors.

"Rose?!" Poe repeats. Behind him, BB-8 is beeping and chirping in panic!

****The ****_**_**Xiphos**_**_****:****

On the bridge, Admiral Harloff steps up to the viewport and spots the Republic bomber as it comes down towards the ship.

****The ****_**_**Brawling Gundark**_**_****:****

"Rose! We need those damned bomb-doors open now!" Poe growls and pulls on his controls.

Four TIE Fighters comes in fast behind the bomber, lining it up in their sights.

The TIE pilot in command instructs the others, "Aim for the engines."

"Yes, sir" another pilot replies.

The TIE's are about to open fire, when out of nowhere two get shot down and the other two veers off to avoid the incoming fire. They get chased by Landos stolen ship. Zorii and Jannah manning the turrets with Lando piloting.

"Go get 'em!" Lando says with a wide grin looking at the bomber. "Give those bastards hell!"

The bomber levels out as it flies along the length of the Star Destroyer, heading for its command-tower. Rose keeps jumping on the bomb-doors. Poe struggles with his controls.

****The ****_**_**Xiphos**_**_****:****

Admiral Harloff turns to his officers. "Activate our bridge-deflector shield!"

****The ****_**_**Brawling Gundark**_**_****:****

Poe pulls on his controls as the bomber flies straight towards the command-tower and the bridge, dangerously close to crashing into the hull of the Star Destroyer. Rose jumps once, twice and a third time; the bomb-doors give way and open, Rose drops down and is saved by her tether, being dragged along as the bomber races forward. In the cockpit, a green light lights up and Poe grins.

"Yeah! Good job, Rose!" Poe calls out and pulls a lever.

The bombs begin to drop en-masse and Rose watches as she gets dragged along by the bomber. The forty-two bombs drops in pairs, thrusters ignites and they race towards the Star Destroyer and begins to carpet the __Xiphos__ as they fly past.

****The ****_**_**Xiphos**_**_****:****

Both Armitage and Yorrick run from the viewports but it is no use, as the bombs hit, they are engulfed in flames.

Admiral Harloff covers his face with his arms as the bombs strike the bridge and he too is engulfed in flames.

****The Escape from Holqawa'weyu:****

The bomber leaves the __Xiphos__ behind and Rose, still outside the bomber, can see how the ship loses power, now a burning wreck, and begins to fall towards the planet. In the cockpit, Poe lets out a victorious howl!

Lando and his small crew cheer as well!

The bomber and Landos ship heads towards the prison-barge.

Rey, still upset, calculates the jump to hyperspace and her stolen shuttle makes the jump. Soon after, so does the prison-barge.

****Planet of Baramon, Republic Capitol:****

Thousands of Republic officers and soldiers attend a formal gathering, standing at attention. A path leads straight through the huge formation of troops. Bombastic fanfares are heard all over. In front of the formation stands several politicians and high-ranking generals and admirals, with the banners of the Republic behind them. Walking down the path through the massive formation of troops are Poe, Rose, Rey and Chewie. Rey's face is badly scarred and her eye is covered by a metal eye-patch ( __like Captain Typho in Episode 2__ ). They climb stairs to reach the politicians and then receive a golden medal each ( including Chewie! ) from the new Chancellor.

The Chancellor then addresses all troops, as well as the four heroes. "For their incredible courage at the battle of Holqawa'weyu, elimaniting the leadership of the First Order, we so honor and recognise these heroes of the Republic! Our enemies have lost their will to fight. They are in disarray and disorganized. The First Order has fallen apart from vicious infighting. Let us all give thanks to these heroes who made this possible. Who made it possible for the Republic to win this brutal conflict and bring peace to the galaxy. Honor them and remember them!"

The chancellor applauds our heroes and so does the thousands of troops and politicians. Our heroes are filled with pride, smiles wide, especially so when they spot BB-8 and R2D2 standing in the front-row of troops.

****Rey's Destiny:****

Rey walks across a cemetary, more akin to a beautiful garden. She stops by a small monument with a holographic image of Finn, the same golden medal placed beneath the hologram, along with six other medals awarded for his service.

"I miss you" Rey says. "If it hadn't been for you, I would've still been rotting away on Jakku. I would've never met my father. I would have never fulfilled my destiny. I just wanted you to know that I am so incredibly grateful for everything. So that's why I'm going to make you this promise; I wont rest until I've brought order to the galaxy."

She pauses, then retrieves a small device from a pocket in her belt. Opening her hand, we see it is the Sith Holocron that is resting in the palm of her hand, and behind her we see the Sith Ghost of Darth Sidious. Sidious sinister laughter echoes as Rey looks up, her remaining eye yellow.

****THE END****

__So that is how I would have made Episode 9, based on my rewrite of Episode 7 and 8. So there is no romance between Rey and Kylo, because I just don't see the appeal, or even the logic behind it. Instead, Kylo tries to turn Rey to the Dark Side; and she was about to resist him! But then, of course, Finn enters and ruins it all. It is the death of Finn that seals Reys fate and finally pushes her down the path of the Dark Side. And of course, perhaps most important of all; Chewbacca finally got his god damn medal! So that's it. If you love it or hate it, leave a comment and let me know what you think!__


End file.
